Iran to open int'l oil bourse

Iran plans to launch an oil bourse at Kish Island in the Persian Gulf to offer crude and petrochemical products.

"Next week the international exchange hall of crude, oil products and petrochemical goods of Iran's Mercantile Exchange will be inaugurated" to help develop "national economy," said Ali Akbar Hashemian, director general of Iran's Mercantile Exchange Company.

Hashemian expressed hope the bourse would increase trade of oil products and encourage investment in the energy sector.

The Tehran-based Iran Mercantile Exchange is using 'spot' rather than futures trading, requiring immediate payment and delivery of the physical product.

The first phase of the bourse kicked off in 2008.

Iran, holder of the world's second-largest oil and gas reserves, is trying to play a more active role in oil and petrochemical transactions in international markets.

The Islamic Republic also wants to encourage local investors to participate in the oil market as it tries to reduce the state's role in the country's energy industry.