China defying sanctions imposed on Iran
The recently released data shows Iran’s crude oil exports to
China soared to the second highest level in December 2012, despite US-led
sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s energy sector.
According to Reuters report China imported nearly 593,390
barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iran in December last year, up 3.6 per cent
from the preceding year and up 39 per cent from November. For the full year
2012, the highest level of China's crude imports from Iran stood at 633,000
bpd.
Industry officials in China attributed the enhancement in
Iran’s crude oil exports to improvement in shipment. The problems that used to cause
delays have been overcome recently. The period of delay has become shorter and
overall, less frequent.
Iran is currently China's third largest supplier of crude,
providing Beijing with roughly 12 percent of its total annual oil consumption.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the
European Union had imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors
with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and
conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
On October 15, 2012, the EU foreign ministers reached an
agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.
Iran terms these impositions illegal and insists that US-engineered
sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing
non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
According to another news report China will soon start
importing polyethylene made in Iran, which became possible after the Islamic
Republic partially lifted a ban on the export of petrochemicals late last year.
Lately, China-based market sources said that an estimated
100,000-150,000 metric tons of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density
polyethylene (LDPE) from Iran is expected to arrive in China within a month
aboard five vessels. The sources added that the Iranian tanker Touska will
shortly discharge HDPE and LDPE at Shanghai port.
On November 6, 2012, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister
Abdolhossein Bayat announced that the Oil Ministry had lifted the ban on the
export of seven petrochemicals; benzene, styrene monomer, caustic soda,
linear alkyl benzene (LAB), melamine crystal, premature ventricular contraction
(PVC), and polyethylene.
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