Page 33 - IRANRptMay19

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Turkey is trying to persuade the US to allow refiner Tupras, its biggest refinery and oil importer, to continue buying crude oil from Iran with no threat of sanctions, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on April 26.
Under its unprecedented sanctions regime imposed on Iran, Washington has demanded all buyers of Iranian oil stop their purchases by May 1. For the past six months, Turkey and seven other countries including China and India, have enjoyed temporary sanctions waivers on acquired shipments of Iranian oil but on April 22 the Trump administration said that the waivers would not be renewed.
The decision was far tougher than anticipated. It caught some key importers off-guard.
The US claims Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are working to ensure that Iranian oil removed from the market is smoothly replaced with their oil, but Turkey says Saudi and UAE oil is more expensive and anyway disagrees with the US sanctions approach to its neighbour Iran. Another difficulty is the fraught relations between Ankara and Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry has said the Pakistanis are once more ready to cooperate with Iran on finishing the long-delayed Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, IRNA reported on April 25.
The IP has not come to fruition given obstacles including several policy switches by Pakistani leaders and continuous pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia on Islamabad to not deal with Iran. The 2,700-km pipeline is to transit gas from the massive South Pars field in the Persian Gulf into Pakistan, with a crossing point in the Baluchistan regions of the two countries. India was originally going to tie into the project but instead opted for sea-borne deliveries of gas condensates dispatched from Iran’s sole oceanic port, Chabahar. Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said both sides would work together to move along the delayed IP project. He spoke following the first official visit paid by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to Iran earlier this week.
“Iran is an important Muslim neighbour with centuries-old people to people, religious and cultural affinities with Pakistan,” he said.
Faisal added that the Pakistani and Iranian governments have also agreed to help facilitate the arrival of more religious tourists from Pakistan in Iran. The tourists usually visit Mashhad and Qom, Iran’s two most holy cities.
Iran badly needs foreign direct investment to boost output from its oil and gas resources. Much of its hydrocarbon production potential has remained unrealised during the years of Western sanctions.
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Auto production in Iran plunged 73.3% y/y in the 12 months to February 19, latest data released by Iran Vehicle Manufacturers Association
33 IRAN Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com