Categories: EnergyIFP Exclusive

Business activist: Russia taking over Iran’s share of Chinese oil market

The head of a major Iranian energy union warns that Russia appears to be taking over Iran’s share of the Chinese oil market, saying that Tehran should, in return, try to take the place of Moscow in the European market to prevent a decline in its crude sales.

Hamid Hosseini, the secretary of the Iranian Oil ,Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told Iranian media that the figures drawn up by global institutions confirm a recent Reuters report about a decrease in China’s oil imports from Iran and its growing inclination toward Russian crude.

Reuters claimed in the report that China’s purchases of Iranian oil in April came off peak volumes seen in late 2021 and early 2022 in the wake of growing imports of lower-priced Russian oil.

Hosseini explained why the Chinese may go for more Russian oil in the future. He said Russian oil “is not under sanctions and the Americans have offered waivers to China since they do not want any shortages in the global market.”

This indicates that Russia is likely to take over Iran’s share of the Chinese market in the future, he added.

Asked how Iran should keep up its oil sales with such a prospect, the business activist said the Islamic Republic should instead try to return to the European market through a restoration of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which would remove the sanctions from its energy sector.

In that case, Hosseini said, Iran will be able to “easily” export around 600,000 barrels oil to Europe per day.

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