Chinese Sign Upstream Deals as Western Oil Companies Shun Iran

摘要

As most Western oil companies steer clear of Iran because of US-led sanctions, China’s state giants have stepped into the breach to sign large upstream deals.Underlining the growing ties, China has overtaken Japan as the largest single importer of Iranian crude oil.In the first half of this year, official Chinese statistics show that China bought 13.12 million tons (540,000 barrels per day) of Iranian crude, a rise of over 21% compared with the first six months of 2008.