The United States government has agreed to allow 8 countries to continue buying Iranian oil after a re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran next week, the Bloomberg news agency quoted a US official as saying.
The report noted that the eight countries, including South Korea, a close ally of the United States, Japan and India.
Iran's major oil customers, all in Asia, have been seeking exemptions from sanctions allowing them to continue buying some crude from Iran.
Bloomberg said a list of all countries receiving exemptions was expected to be officially announced on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Energy Minister said his country had not received written notice of any exceptions to the purchase of Iranian oil but had heard rumors about it.
A Chinese official told Reuters that talks with the US government were underway and that results were expected in the next two days.
"We believe Trump will agree to import some quantities of China, similar to the treatment India and South Korea receive," Clayton Allen of Hight Securities said in a note on Friday.
But analysts said any possible exceptions to Iran's oil sanctions would probably be temporary.
"The United States may use exceptions to proceed with implementation, but these exceptions will not be applied indefinitely," Allen said.
Goldman Sachs said it expected Iran's crude oil exports to fall to 1.15 million bpd by the end of the year, down from about 2.5 million bpd in mid-2018.
