Showa Shell still in talks with Iran to reduce oil purchases

Bloomberg: Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (5002), Japan’s largest buyer of oil from Iran, is in the final stages of talks on reducing its crude-oil purchasing contract with the country for the fiscal year started April 1, company spokesman Satoshi Yoshida said today in Tokyo.

Bloomberg

By Yuji Okada

Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (5002), Japan’s largest buyer of oil from Iran, is in the final stages of talks on reducing its crude-oil purchasing contract with the country for the fiscal year started April 1, company spokesman Satoshi Yoshida said today in Tokyo.

Showa Shell plans to reduce the contract volume of about 100,000 barrels-a-day in accordance with an agreement between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. and its allies have accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and have imposed sanctions on the country, including limits on oil purchases.

“The discussions with Iran are in the final stretch, but we still don’t have a date for reaching an agreement,” said Yoshida.

Japan’s crude imports from Iran, the fourth-biggest oil supplier to the country, dropped 32.7 percent from a year ago to 1.41 million kiloliters, or about 306,000 barrels a day, in February, according to data from the trade ministry.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested on March 21 that importers reduce Iranian imports even after Japan got an exemption from U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. gave the waiver to nations that have “significantly reduced” oil purchases from the Middle Eastern nation, according to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.