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Turkey steeply cuts Iran crude imports

06 June 2012 09:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Konul Jafarli â€“ APA. Turkey has steeply cut oil imports from Iran in May and June, a source at the country’s sole refiner told Reuters, to avoid U.S. sanctions after official trade data showed stubbornly high imports in April, APA reports citing Reuters.

Lower imports from Ankara will add pressure on Tehran which is struggling to sell oil as the West expands sanctions to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear programme.

A sharp drop in crude prices in May below $100 a barrel is a further blow for Tehran which is heavily dependent on oil revenues.

The EU will join the United States in imposing a total ban on imports of Iranian oil from July.

Turkey, the world’s fifth largest buyer of Iranian oil, pledged in March to cut imports by 20 percent in a move similar to Iran’s Asian customers such as Japan and South Korea.

Turkey’s only crude buyer, refiner Tupras, has a term contract with Iran that expires in August allowing it to lift 180,000 bpd.