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MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG
Iran ‘quietly’ resumes oil
trade with China, India
IRAN IRAN has reportedly “quietly” moved record “They [the Iranians] spoke to us. They said,
volumes of crude oil to top client China, while ‘We hope to resume oil supplies very soon.’ We
India’s state refineries have added Iranian oil to said, ‘Inshallah,’ “ one source at an Indian refin-
their annual import plans on the assumption that ery was reported to have said.
US sanctions on Tehran will soon ease. India, which as a major oil importer has suf-
Reuters on March 8 cited six industry sources fered amid a recent robust rebound in global
and Refinitiv data in describing the apparent crude prices, expected Iranian supplies to return
turn of events. to the market in three to four months, a govern-
Under sanctions brought in by former US ment official said.
president Donald Trump when he scrapped par-
ticipation in the 2015 nuclear deal (formally the Grey market
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) Unlike India, China never completely stopped
between Iran and six major powers, the US is still importing oil from Iran in the wake of the Trump
officially committed to driving Iran’s oil exports attempt to scupper all Iranian crude sales abroad.
to zero. Yet with hopes rising that Trump’s suc- Various grey market manoeuvres have been used
cessor, Joe Biden, and Tehran can find a way to to keep up some consignments.
resolve differences that would enable a resump- According to Refinitiv Oil Research, Iran has
tion of full commitment to the JCPOA—and also delivered about 17.8mn tonnes (306,000 bpd) of
perhaps a growing feeling that Biden officials oil to China in the past 14 months, with volumes
may have eased back on US efforts in enforcing reaching record levels in January and February.
the sanctions still in effect—Iran’s oil export offi- Of these, about 75% were “indirect” imports,
cials appear to be already active in preparing the identified as oil from Oman, the United Arab
ground for a full-on revival of the country’s oil Emirates (UAE) or Malaysia, which entered
trade with China and India, formerly the second China mainly through ports in the eastern prov-
largest client in purchasing Iranian crude. ince of Shandong, where most of China’s private
refineries are located, or through the port Ying-
Reaching out kou in northeastern Liaoning province.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Geneva-based tanker tracker Petro-Logistics
began reaching out to customers across Asia as said Iranian oil loadings in January exceeded
soon as Biden took office on January 20 to assess 600,000 bpd for the first time since May 2019, a
potential demand for its oil, Reuters sources were sign that the end of Trump’s term may be chang-
quoted as saying. ing buyer behaviour.
Week 10 10•March•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9