Iran's gasoline imports halved by US sanctions

The Jerusalem Post

Gas shipments in July of 60,000 barrels per day, down from 120,000 in May.

iran’s gasoline imports fell 50 percent last month as sanctions over the nation’s nuclear program spurred traders to halt supplies, according to Energy Market Consultants Ltd.

Iran received about 60,000 barrels a day in July, compared with 120,000 in May, Vijay Mukherji, a London-based research associate at EMC, said by phone today. The consultant revised its earlier estimate of 65,000 to 70,000 barrels a day.

“International trading companies have pulled back,” Mukherji said. “The US, Europe and the UN are aiming to cut Iran off. They just don’t want them to get any oil-product supplies.”

US President Barack Obama signed legislation on July 1 that punishes foreign suppliers of Iran’s gasoline and blocks access to the American financial system for banks that do business with the country. Gasoline sanctions weren’t mandated by the UN or imposed by the European Union.

Shipments of the fuel are now dominated by Turkish and Chinese companies, Mukherji said. Before the sanctions, Emirati, Russian and international trading companies were also significant suppliers, he said.

Three state-controlled Russian oil companies, including OAO Rosneft and OAO Gazprom Neft, may begin delivering gasoline to Iran in a month, Rajab Safarov, head of the Iran Commission of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said yesterday.