Chile new buyer of Iranian crude oil
Iran has found an unlikely buyer for its crude oil after the decision by the US to re-impose sanctions in the form of Chile, trading and shipping sources said.
Chilean state-owned refiner ENAP has purchased 140,000 mt of Iranian crude for May loading in a rare move, they said.
This is the first time Chile has imported Iranian crude in almost 18 months, according data from S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow.
The Suezmax Monte Toledo was placed on subjects on a Kharg Island to Chile route at World scale 52.5 for May 24-25 loading, sources said.
Chile mainly relies on crude oil imports from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina but it also occasionally buys crude oil from Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Chile’s monthly crude imports have been in a range of 700,000-900,000 mt over the past year, according to Platts estimates.
State energy company ENAP is Chile’s sole oil refiner, which operates two refineries — Aconcagua and Biobio — with around 220,000 b/d of refining capacity.
Earlier this week, the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement with President Donald Trump saying he would put “powerful” economic sanctions back “into full effect”.
International buyers of Iranian oil have until November 4 to wind down contracts before the US reimposes sanctions, according to a US Treasury Department fact sheet.
Iran’s crude output was 3.83 million b/d in April, according to S&P Global Platts estimates.