State-owned Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp is set to maintain oil imports to China, despite US sanctions.
Flaring gas in the Iranian oilfields Image: dynamosquito |
Chinese trade officials released a statement that Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, a major supplier to Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, would continue to import around 230,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day in 2013. Officials also floated the possibility of increasing imports of other energy products from the troubled Middle Eastern nation, such as gas condensate.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in June, “We believe trade between Iran and China is completely legal and fair”, claiming the US sanctions, imposed as a result of poor nuclear compliance, are illegal.
While China remains Iran’s top trading partner, imports have slowed somewhat this year. As a result of the decrease in transactions, the US offered China an extra 180-day exemption from the sanctions in July. However, the latest statement from government officials does not suggest the energy-hungry nation will halt imports from the Arab nation before the exemption period is over.