Iran Oil Ban to Affect Market in Mid-2012: IEA

A European Union embargo on Iranian oil will start affecting supplies from around the middle of 2012, giving time for customers to find alternative sources of supply, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday in an emailed statement. The IEA added it welcomed statements by key GCC producers to continue meeting existing and any incremental demand from their customers.

"The EU embargo may not impact upon actual physical supplies until around the middle of 2012," the IEA said. The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development program.