US seeks to reduce Iranian oil exports to below one million barrels per day as of next May

by **claud39** Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:44 am

http://economy-news.net/content.php?id=15778

US seeks to reduce Iranian oil exports to below one million barrels per day as of next May

03/14/2019

Economy News / Follow-up ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is seeking to cut Iran's crude exports by about 20 percent to below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) starting in May by ordering importers to cut purchases to avoid US sanctions, informed sources said.

US President Donald Trump eventually hopes to halt Iranian oil exports and thus stop Tehran's main source of income. The United States is pressing Iran to curb its nuclear program and stop supporting militants it describes as agents of Tehran in the Middle East.

The United States is likely to renew sanctions exemptions for most countries that buy Iranian crude, including China and India, the biggest buyers in return for pledges to cut imports to less than 1 million bpd. This would be less than Iran's current 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) exports of about 250,000 bpd.

"The goal now is to reduce Iranian oil exports to less than one million barrels per day," one source said, adding that the Trump administration was concerned that a bid to halt Iranian oil exports could lead to a rise in world oil prices in the short term.

The sources said that Washington may deprive some countries that have not recently bought Iranian crude from the exemptions.

The United States re-imposed sanctions in November after the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers. These sanctions have already cut Iran's oil exports by half.

In order to give importers time to find alternatives and avoid a jump in oil prices, the United States exempted major Iranian oil buyers from sanctions provided they buy less in the future. The exemptions are renewed every six months.

One of the exporters said the suspension might be difficult, adding that the highest price that Trump could accept for the world's benchmark is Brent crude, which is about $ 65 a barrel.

Brent crude settled at $ 67.55 on Wednesday.
The sources said the Trump administration informed them of the order but was not authorized to speak about it publicly and asked not to be named.

While the latest talks on exemptions aim to reduce exports, the administration remains committed to a complete halt in the future.

US State Department representative Brian Hawke said in remarks at an oil industry conference in Houston on Wednesday that Washington was continuing its plan until Iran's crude exports reached zero.

"It is very clear that we need to launch a campaign in which we exert maximum economic pressure ... but it also does not want to shock the markets," he said.

A spokesman for the State Department's Energy Department declined to comment on the target amounts for the importers, but said US officials were constantly evaluating global oil markets to determine next steps in terms of exemptions from Iran's sanctions.

"On the numerical level, we will receive an update of the assessment as we approach the end of the 180-day period" of the first round of exemptions that end in May.

Washington issued exemptions in November for eight economies that cut its purchases of Iranian oil and allowed it to continue to buy it without sanctions for another six months. These countries are China and India as well as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

Sources said the eight countries were engaged in bilateral talks on exemptions.

One source said the administration was considering rejecting the extension requests submitted by Italy, Greece and Taiwan for reasons including that they had not fully utilized the exemptions so far.

Iran's oil minister, Begin Zengane, was quoted as saying in February that Greece and Italy were not buying any oil from Iran.

It was not clear whether the administration would be able to persuade China, India and Turkey, all heavily dependent on Iranian oil and criticizing US sanctions on Iran, to cut imports.

"India, China and Turkey, the three difficult cases, will continue to negotiate with the administration and are likely to retain exemptions," one source said.

He added that Washington was pressing its allies Japan and South Korea to reduce their purchases of Iranian oil.

Amos Hosstein, who was responsible for Iran's sanctions as the top US energy official under President Barack Obama, said

The administration will likely find it difficult to cut Iran's exports by less than one million bpd, mainly due to strong demand from China, India and Turkey.

"Looking at the market at present, it seems logical that Iranian exports will remain on an average of between 800,000 and 1.1 million bpd," said Hoschstein, who is speaking to energy ministers from countries classified as major consumers.

He said he expected China and India to purchase between 800,000 and 900,000 bpd alone.