LONDON (Commodity Online): The European Union decision to ban oil imports from Iran will haunt the region. In fact, the dateline of July 2012 is so impractical that the EU will find that it has no alternative option, believes Sam Barden, founding partner at the SBI Markets DMCC, a Dubai trading advisory.
The energy analyst told the IRNA news agency that Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are in serious need for Iran's oil and the EU sanctions will possibly make Greece opt out of the Union. On the other hand, he thinks Iran will successfully bear through the ban, thanks to demand from Asian countries, especially China and India.
On the possibility of Saudi Arabia steeping up and compensating for EU's loss of Iran's oil, Sam believes that such an outcome is unlikely because the current political situation in Saudi Arabia will hinder any action to exceed the agreed OPEC output.
