| Kippreport.com

Taiwan CPC will not import Iranian crude in July

July 18, 2012 5:26 by Reuters

Taiwanese state-owned refiner CPC Corp will not import any Iranian crude in July after the latest round of U.S. sanctions that target Iran’s main tanker firm, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Geneva-based consultancy Petrologistics said in a preliminary report on Tuesday that four countries -China, India, Japan and Taiwan – are expected to import Iranian oil in July.

CPC was scheduled to load 2 million barrels of crude from Iran this month, a second source familiar with Iran’s shipping plans said.

It was banking on Iranian ships to transport the crude, but the United States ramped up the pressure on Iran’s ability to export oil, widening sanctions to include vessels owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co and companies in Asia and the Middle East fronting for that company.

“It is not clear what will happen to the ports that allow these Iranian tankers to dock so it’s better to be on the safe side,” the first source said, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to talk to media.

CPC’s last imported Iranian oil in March, according to government data and a trade source.

Taiwan imported about 30,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in 2011, a fraction of the total imports of 781,500 bpd.

The EU enacted a ban on July 1 on insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil, preventing EU insurers and reinsurers from covering tankers carrying Iran’s crude anywhere in the world.

The EU and U.S. sanctions aim to stop Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West suspects is being used to develop a weapon but which Iran insists is for peaceful purposes.

Iran has offered to ship and insure crude cargoes to get around the EU embargo.

Iran had agreed to bear full liability for the cargoes by selling them on a delivery-at-place (DAP) basis, instead of the usual free-on-board (FOB) where buyers are responsible for chartering ships to lift the cargoes, trade sources said.

Taiwan won an exemption from the U.S. financial sanctions on Iran along with its top Asian customers -China, India, South Korea and Japan – as they had reduced imports significantly.

The buyers are keen on getting around the main stumbling block of securing marine insurance to keep shipments flowing in at reduced levels. (Editing by Manash Goswami and Miral Fahmy)

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;q�pet,” said Yassir Mckee, wealth manager at Al Rayan Financial Brokerage. “It will make payments easier for semi-government entities, listed companies and reputable high-net-worth individuals.”

 

A market source said, “Brokerages are still on the hook. They have to settle payments within three days so they have to be careful to screen the clients, whether by their cash flow or credit history. We have yet to see how long it will take for prior approval of recommended clients.”

The ministry also granted licences to conduct custodian services to Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. International investors often place stock trades through custodian banks, which have three days to settle payments.

BROKERAGES

The circular formally allowed Qatari banks to obtain brokerage licences, stating that the QFMA must respond to all applications within 30 days.

Some banks have expressed interest in offering brokerage services, though regulatory limits on the activities they will be able to conduct has caused them to proceed cautiously.

The ministry urged the Qatar Financial Centre to encourage companies registered with the centre to list themselves on the stock exchange, with priority for companies at least 51 percent owned by Qataris. (Editing by Andrew Torchia)

Tags: crude, Iran, Taiwan