An unnamed refinery official told Dow Jones on Tuesday that the Italian refiner is keeping Iran oil imports relatively steady at 10 percent of its supply, ignoring the EU ban on Iranian oil imports, which will take full effect as of July 1.
The disclosure by Italy’s second-largest independent refiner in terms of capacity is in contrast with an announcement by France's Total SA that said it has stopped buying oil from the Islamic Republic.
Many Italian refiners, Dow Jones added, are locked in long-term contracts with Iran, making it difficult for them to reduce supplies before the ban starts.
On February 3, director of Italy's oil industry organization, said EU sanctions on imports of petroleum from Iran over the country's peaceful nuclear energy program can lead to the closure of Italian oil refineries.
"Some Italian refineries are heavily dependent on Iranian crude and need to secure alternative supplies urgently... or they will run into serious difficulties," Piero de Simone added.
Speaking to reporters in a joint press conference with president of the European Parliament, Martin Shulz, in Rome on February 25, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said complying with EU sanctions against Iran will trouble Italy’s ailing economy more than other EU member states.
On January 23, EU Foreign Ministers approved new sanctions against Iran aimed at banning member countries from importing Iranian crude oil and carrying out transactions with its central bank.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says the sanctions aim to persuade Tehran to suspend its peaceful nuclear activities and get back to the negotiating table with the P5+1 group-- comprising of the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany.
The United States, Israel and their European allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program. Tehran argues that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and an IAEA member, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful use.
The IAEA has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear energy program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.
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Italy’s Saras SpA refinery says it will continue importing Iranian crude despite recent unilateral oil sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) on Iran.
News ID 181544
