US sanctions China’s ‘teapot’ refinery for buying Iranian oil

The Hengli refinery, China’s second-largest, has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s military, the US Treasury says.

The United States has sanctioned a Chinese lipid refinery for buying hundreds of millions of dollars worthy of Iranian oil.

Ahead of potential caller talks connected ending the US-Israeli warfare connected Iran, the US Treasury Department connected Friday said that it was targeting Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s second-largest “teapot” oregon autarkic refinery.

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Hengli is “one of Tehran’s astir valued customers” and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars successful gross for the Iranian subject done crude lipid purchases, the Treasury added.

It besides imposed caller sanctions connected astir 40 shipping firms and vessels alleged to beryllium operating arsenic portion of Iran’s shadow fleet.

The Chinese embassy successful Washington, DC pushed backmost against the move.

“We telephone ‌on the US to halt politicising commercialized and sci-tech issues and utilizing them arsenic a limb and a instrumentality and halt abusing assorted kinds of authorisation to deed Chinese companies,” a spokesperson said.

China gets much than fractional of its lipid from the Middle East, and past twelvemonth purchased much than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to analytics steadfast Kpler.

The US Navy has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, successful what President Donald Trump claims is simply a bid to further choke Iran’s proceeds from lipid and state exports.

Teapots nether pressure

China’s “teapot” refineries are small, privately owned refineries, mostly based successful Shandong state and nicknamed for their teapot-like shape.

They play a cardinal relation successful beefing up China’s lipid supplies by importing and stockpiling discounted Iranian and Russian lipid – portion allowing state-owned enterprises to stay much insulated from politically risky lipid trading.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged Friday to proceed targeting the “network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers Iran relies connected to determination its lipid to planetary markets”.

“Any idiosyncratic oregon vas facilitating these flows – done covert commercialized and concern – risks vulnerability to US sanctions,” helium said.

Aside from the imaginable of sanctions, the US-Israel war connected Iran has accrued fiscal pressures for teapot refineries, which are facing “high replacement prices successful a marketplace already strained by planetary tensions”, Brussels-based economical deliberation vessel Bruegel reported past month.

Even earlier the warfare began, the Trump medication was targeting China’s autarkic refineries.

Last year, the Treasury sanctioned Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong Shengxing Chemical.