Turkey to buy Libyan oil to reduce its dependence on Iran

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey plans to purchase oil from Libya in an attempt to reduce its dependence on Iranian oil by 20 percent, a move that is expected to help the country bypass sanctions the U.S. plans to impose on countries buying oil from Iran, Today’s Zaman reported.

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız told journalists Friday, March 30 in Ankara that Turkey plans to purchase one million tons of crude oil from Libya in 2012 through the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (Tüpraş). “We believe that our decision is right for the normalization of Libya and to increase the trade volume bilaterally,” he said.

Tüpraş announced on Friday that the company has decided to reduce its purchases of crude oil from Iran by 20 percent and will make up the shortfall through “other sources.” The company did not provide further details. Turkey hopes that it can still get a waiver from sanctions which the United States plans to impose on countries buying oil from Iran despite not being named on a list of exempted nations released by Washington. Turkey is also in talks with Saudi Arabia on spot oil purchases and longer term contacts, Yıldız added. “We plan to increase the number of countries we buy oil from and the routes we use,” Yıldız said.

Turkey imports around 200,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran, representing 30 percent of its total imports and more than 7 percent of Iran’s oil exports. The United States exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian crude oil, but left Iran’s top customers, China and India, exposed to the possibility of such action. Turkey’s sole refiner, Tüpraş, a unit of Koç Holding, confirmed in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange that it would cut its purchases of Iranian crude by 20 percent. Tüpraş is Turkey’s main oil importer, and currently buys 30 percent of its crude oil from Iran, where it has an annual purchase contract of 9 million tons. Koç Energy Group Chairman Erol Memioğlu told reporters last month that the existing Tupraş oil contract with Iran ends in August. He said that he expected more clarity on the details of the sanctions in May, before Washington’s measures on oil-related transactions take effect on June 28.