Japanese refiners load first Iran oil cargo since U.S. sanctions (updated)

Fuji Oil Co (Shinagawa)

21/01/2019 08:38

* Japan loads first Iran oil cargo since U.S. sanctions -
Fuji Oil
    * VLCC Kisogawa set to arrive in Japan on Feb. 9 - data
    * Carries about 1 mln bbls Iranian oil each for Fuji, Showa
Shell

 (Adds details of Japan's purchase)
    By Yuka Obayashi and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
    TOKYO/LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Japanese refiners have
loaded Iranian oil onto a tanker, resuming imports after halting
purchases because of sanctions by the United States, a spokesman
for a Japanese refinery and an Iranian official said on Monday.
    Japan is the last of the four biggest Iranian oil buyers in
Asia to resume imports after receiving a waiver from U.S.
sanctions on crude imports that started in November. China and
India maintained their imports after November while South Korea
halted imports for four months, resuming them over the weekend. 
    Iran is the fourth-largest oil producer among the members of
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
    "After China, South Korea, India and Turkey, Japan also
started the process of importing Iranian oil," Abdolnaser
Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said
according to the state news agency IRNA.
    Japanese refiner Fuji Oil Co  5017.T  lifted a cargo of
Iranian crude oil over the weekend, a company spokesman said.
    The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Kisogawa loaded about 2
million barrels of Iranian oil on Sunday and is expected to
reach Japan on Feb. 9, according to the Fuji spokesman and
Refinitiv Eikon data. Fuji Oil owns about half of the oil
onboard, while Showa Shell Sekiyu KK  5002.T  owns the
remainder, the Fuji spokesman said.
    "It took a while for us to resume imports of Iranian oil,"
he said, adding that the biggest hurdle was to get banks to
agree to handle payments to Iran.
    A Showa Shell spokesman declined to comment on specific
deals, adding that it has an option to resume Iran oil imports
if all conditions are met.
    Still, the Iranian exports to Japan, the world's
fourth-biggest oil import, may be short-lived as two buyers
based in Japan said they may not be able to continue after
annual tanker insurance backed by the Japanese government
expires in March.
    "We have already bought oil in case we can't take Iranian
cargoes for March loading," one of the buyers said.
    Iran's oil exports have fallen sharply since U.S. President
Donald Trump said in May 2018 the United States would withdraw
from a pact curtailing Iran's disputed nuclear programme and
reimpose sanctions on Tehran.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XH1LR
    Japan stopped oil imports from Iran in November when the
sanctions came into effect. Iranian oil accounted for 5.3
percent of Japan's total crude imports in 2017.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1XH2F3
    However, waivers were granted to Iran's biggest oil clients 
- Japan, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Greece and
Turkey - which allow them to import some oil for another 180
days.
    On Saturday, South Korea received its first Iranian oil
cargo in four months.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1ZL1NK

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Asia's Iranian oil imports    http://tmsnrt.rs/2cNidjY
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 (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in LONDON and Yuka Obayashi
in TOKYO; additional reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE;
editing by Christian Schmollinger)
 ((bozorgmehr.sharafedin@thomsonreuters.com;))