ECGD is to provide support for UK exporters trading with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for contracts of up to US$20mn without the need for NIOC to enter into a structured finance arrangement.

UK companies selling capital goods or providing services to NIOC (the state-owned oil company in Iran) will now benefit from streamlined procedures when seeking to secure contracts up to this limit.

ECGD chief executive Vivian Brown says: “Our decision to set up ‘clean cover’ limits with National Petrochemical Company (NPC) of Iran earlier this year provoked considerable interest among exporters and buyers.

“With this in mind, I am pleased to be able to confirm the extension of similar limits to NIOC giving our customers a faster, simpler service appropriate to smaller contracts in their dealings with them.”

ECGD’s normal risk assessment criteria for projects will continue to apply.

ECGD, the Export Credits Guarantee Department, is the UK’s export credit agency. It is a separate government department reporting to the secretary of state for trade and industry. Visit www.ecgd.gov.uk