Bloomberg
UAE Sheikh claims that oil cargo US says is from Iran
(Bloomberg) – US attempt to stop Iran from exporting oil comes under fire after a sheikh from the United Arab Emirates claimed a cargo seized by Washington, claiming it came from the Islamic Republic is. the court that the approximately 2 million barrels were originally from Iraq. Fujairah International Oil & Gas Corp, which is wholly owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, has an intermediary seller of the oil, according to a claim filed in federal court. in the District of Columbia. The case highlights the difficulty facing the US as it tries to prevent Iran from generating revenue from energy sales and putting pressure on it to resume nuclear talks. While shipments of Iranian oil have declined due to the threat of U.S. fines, they have opted out in recent months, although their origins have often been obscured. The main buyers are refineries in China. Washington claims that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards of Iran and the IRGC Quds Force – both classified by the US as terrorist organizations – secretly sent the oil abroad, relying on ship-to-ship trust and counterfeiting. documents. Iran said the cargo belonged to the ‘private sector’ and that its seizure was a ‘piracy operation’. ‘FGE. “The falsification of documents such as bills of lading and other necessities for trades is not such a big problem.” US President Joe Biden has suggested that the two countries return to an international agreement of 2015 in which Iran restricts its core activities in exchange for sanctions easing. His predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled the US out of the agreement in mid-2018 and tightened sanctions. Tehran says it must end before a new round of talks can begin. Tensions in the Middle East have also increased recently due to a spate of attacks on ships and energy facilities. Saudi Arabia’s oil export terminal Ras Tanura – the largest in the world – was attacked by drones and missiles earlier this month. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have claimed responsibility for the attack. Several tankers were targeted with mines in the Red Sea last year, while an Israeli-owned cargo ship was hit in late February by an explosion in the Persian Gulf. FIOGC said in June it bought the crude oil from an unknown Iraqi supplier, which offered papers from Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO as proof of origin. FIOGC stored the oil on a ship in the port of Fujairah, a major energy trading center on the Gulf of Oman of the UAE. Calls made to SOMO on Sunday were not answered, while FIOGC did not immediately respond to a request In October, FIOGC sold the oil to an unidentified Chinese buyer. Under the agreement, FIOGC was responsible for the delivery of the crude oil and hired the supertanker Achilleas for the voyage to China. The U.S. government seized the cargo late last year after Achilles’ Greek owner, Capital Ship Management Corp., alerted authorities to the possibility that it had unknowingly adopted Iranian crude oil, after believing it came from Iraq. Houston dismissal The Achilleas have diverted to the US and the crude oil was discharged in Houston this month. FIOGC claims that it retains a financial interest in the cargo. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in early February to seize the oil. FIOGC was established last year to trade petroleum products. The use of floating storage facilities was ‘particularly important in 2020’ because the coronavirus pandemic hampered demand for oil and that traders at the tanks on land no longer had space, according to the FIOGC court file. Sheikh Hamad is also a member of the UAE’s highest council, the country’s executive arm. The UAE is one of the US’s closest allies in the region. It is a federation of seven emirates, including Fujairah, although Abu Dhabi is the capital and most politically active. (Updates with analyst comments.) Visit us at bloomberg.com for more articles like this. Sign up now to stay ahead of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP