News from Iran

China: No Problem for Importing Iranian Crude Oil

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Chinese economic official underscored Beijing's resolve to continue importing crude oil from Iran, and noted that his country faces no problem for importing Iranian oil.

Fars,

20 March, 2012

Managing-Director of the Chinese Shipping Development Company Yan Zhichong said Monday the company would continue importing oil from Iran despite West's unilateral sanctions against the country. 

Yan added that Beijing will by no means allow the sanctions reduce the volume of China's oil imports from Iran, the Islamic republic news agency reported. 

Yan stated that China's Shipping Development Company has, so far, faced no problems regarding importing oil products from Iran. 

Yan stressed that China would do its utmost to tackle Europe's sanctions against Iran. 

The company is the largest Chinese shipping and sea transportation company with 72 oil tankers. 

China is Iran's top trade partner, with economic ties expanding in recent years after the withdrawal of Western companies in line with sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its peaceful nuclear program. 

Beijing has also significantly increased its presence in Iran's oil and gas sector by signing a series of contracts worth up to 40 billion dollars in the past few years. 

China boosted its oil imports from Iran by 30% in 2011 despite the West's pressure on the world's second largest economy to lower economic ties with Iran. 

China's crude oil imports from Iran have amounted to 27.76 million metric tons in 2011, Chinese General Administration of Customs announced in February. 

The growth in China's oil imports from Iran came despite the West's efforts to rally support for an oil embargo on Iran. 

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. 

Tehran has dismissed West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians' national resolve to continue the path. 

Iran Ups Oil Storage Capacity

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran has re-commissioned a new storage facility at a Persian Gulf island as part of its measures to block the impacts of the current embargos imposed by the West on Iranian crude oil, an Iranian oil official stated.

Fars,

20 March, 2012

Managing director of Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC) Seyyed Pirouz Mousavi said on Monday that, the country has re-commissioned a new storage facility at the Kharg Island oil terminal which can hold as much as one million barrels of crude. 

The official added that increasing oil storage capacity will improve oil production and export conditions. 

Mousavi had announced earlier that Iran is capable of storing crude oil in the Persian Gulf for a period of 10-12 days, adding that the figure should hit 30-40 days by building the new storage facilities. 

The Kharg oil terminal is currently handling about 98 percent of Iran's crude exports and the island has more than 40 storage facilities capable of holding a total amount of 22 million barrels of crude oil. 

In late January the EU imposed an oil embargo on Iran, with foreign ministers meeting in Brussels ruling that no further oil contracts could be struck between member states and the Islamic republic, though existing delivery deals would be allowed to run until July. 

Following the move, Tehran summoned the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal and the Netherlands to protest at the EU's unilateral sanctions against Tehran over its peaceful nuclear program, and warned them that it would soon stop oil exports to these countries if they do not reverse their decision. 

Tehran then cut oil supplies to Britain and France in February. Later last month Iran stopped crude delivery to Greece. 

Greece would be particularly affected by oil sanctions as other exporters have refused to deal with Greek traders. According to official reports, previous suppliers of crude oil, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have stopped trading with Greece due to precautionary measures in case Greece is unable to pay, even though thus far no payments have been reneged on. But, Iran has extended credit to Greece, which few other oil exporters are willing to do. 

Following the EU decision in January, the Iranian oil ministry in a statement downplayed the effects of the US and EU's unilateral oil sanctions against Tehran, and said such embargoes would merely harm the European economies and oil consuming countries. 

European sanctions against Iran's oil exports will affect the world economy and hurt the European and non-European countries, the statement said. 

"The hurried decision by the EU states to use oil as a political tool will have a negative impact on the world economy and specially on the recovering European economies which are fighting to overcome the global financial crisis," it added. 

The statement continued that since just 18 percent of oil produced by Iran is exported to European countries, the Islamic Republic can easily replace new markets with the European market. 

Several European refineries have gone bankrupt and shut down business after Tehran announced in January that it would soon cut supplies to those EU member states which would sign into the new sanctions against Iranian oil.