The benchmark against which the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) prices its crude for Europe and the Mediterranean will alter on January 1—a move that dealers tell Argus could signal Iran’s desire to resume oil exports to Europe.

The Islamic Republic’s state-controlled oil firm, NIOC, will begin using the ICE Brent settlement instead of the ICE Bwave benchmark for pricing crude it would sell to European and Mediterranean markets from January 1, 2022, according to Argus, citing NIOC’s January pricing formulas.

No refiner in Europe currently buys Iranian crude oil because no one wants to risk secondary US sanctions by dealing with Iran’s oil. Despite US pressure on other crude purchasers not to deal with Iran, China is the Islamic Republic’s major crude oil consumer.

The change in the benchmark for European crude sales, according to traders who talked to Argus, could indicate that Iran plans to begin shipments when—and if—the ongoing talks on the JCPOA result in the easing of US sanctions.

The US and Iran’s indirect negotiations on possibly returning to the accord were put on hold ahead of the Iranian presidential election in early summer. Currently, a satisfactory outcome appears to be months away, and a lawful return of Iranian barrels to the oil market appears to be even further away.

Commenting on the ongoing talks, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last Thursday: “We believe a diplomatic resolution offers the best path to avoiding a nuclear crisis. However, given the ongoing advances in Iran’s nuclear program, the President has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options, and that requires preparations.”