Facing sanctions, China defends Iran oil imports

Submitted by John C.K. Daly of OilPrice.com Despite Sanctions, Iran's Economy Limps Along In the 20th century, upright moral nations developed a new method of showing international opprobrium to rogue nations, the implantation of economic sanctions, designed to modify a recalcitrant nation’s behavior to accommodate international political mores.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese refining giant Sinopec Corp, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, has no plans to raise its Iranian crude imports for the rest of this year so as to avoid falling foul of tough U.S. sanctions on Tehran's oil trade, a senior Chinese oil executive said. China is the only one of Iran's four major Asian oil buyers that could still face penalties from the United States once sanctions kick in on June 28. Washington on Monday added India and South Korea to a list of countries, that already includes Japan, exempt from sanctions. ...

Supertanker Ab Qaid (wikimedia)

Last year China, India, Japan, and South Korea accounted for 60 percent of Iran’s total oil exports, providing the country with $100 billion of revenue. As the EU oil sanctions take effect in July, Iran will feel an economic squeeze, which the West is hoping will force Tehran into talks over their nuclear regime. To further deepen the losses felt by Tehran the US are trying to encourage the Asian buyers to reduce their imports of Iranian oil.

As US President Barack Obama begins his second term, he will have to devote much of his attention to figuring out how to get America’s domestic finances in order.

SINGAPORE/SEOUL — South Korea’s Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co has revived a contract to buy Iranian oil after a year’s hiatus, as thin margins in plastics make the cheap fuel from Iran hard to resist, people familiar with the deal said on Friday. Stringent U.S. and European sanctions aimed at reducing Iran’s oil income and forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear programme have made shipping and paying for the oil hard, halving the Islamic Republic’s crude exports.