China Buys 700K Barrels of Iranian Oil Every Day, Violating US Sanctions

Iran has been subjected to crippling oil-export sanctions for the last several years, but that hasn't stopped China, whose imports of Iranian oil have increased by the month, traders and ship-tracking firms told Reuters.

Chinese buyers are ramping crude purchases at low prices as the international crude benchmark Brent soars and outweighs any risks of U.S. sanctions.

As Reuters notes, Chinese imports of Iranian crude continued to skyrocket this year despite the sanctions that, if enforced, would allow Washington to cut off those who violate them from the U.S. economy.

When the U.S. president is unlikely to wake up from his afternoon nap or refuse to be disturbed while eating ice cream and do anything to punish China for violating the terms of the embargo, Chinese importers exceeded 700,000 bpd for January, according to estimates by three tanker trackers, which exceeded the 623,000 bpd peak recorded by Chinese customs in 2017 before former President Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018 on Iranian oil exports.

Petro-Logistics expects total Iranian oil exports at 800,000 bpd in January and 700,000 bpd in February.

Iranian imports are increasing as Iranian and U.S. officials continue negotiating to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

If such a deal is reached in Vienna, lifting most international sanctions on Tehran would mean Iranian crude exports could flood the world and divert sales away from the Chinese teapots.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/china-buys-700k-barrels-iranian-oil-every-day-violating-us-sanctions