Saturday, 7 December 2013 00:00
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PTI: Sri Lankan Petroleum Resources Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa says his country is willing to resume crude oil imports from Iran amid speculations over Iran sanctions relief.
“We are still not sure what sanctions will be lifted but our refineries are built to suit Iranian oil so if things go well we will consider the option of importing oil from Iran once again,” Yapa was quoted as saying.
Sri Lanka, which depended on Iran for 93% of its oil needs, stopped buying oil from Iran last year when the US slapped sanctions against Iran’s energy sector.
Yapa said his Government is following events after the signing of a historic nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in November.
He added that the Sri Lankan Government has sought information from the US Embassy in Colombo on the deal signed between the six world powers and Iran.
On 24 November, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the US, Russia, France, China, Britain – plus Germany sealed a six-month accord to lay the groundwork for the comprehensive resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program.
In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
On Friday, the United States announced its decision to extend Iran’s oil sanctions waivers for China, India, South Korea and six other countries.
Under an Executive Order in 2012, Washington forced nations to stop buying Iranian oil or face sanctions based on allegations that Tehran’s nuclear energy program is not peaceful. However, the Executive Order allows the US to grant waivers to countries that reduce their purchases. Washington’s anti-Iran sanctions go beyond those passed by the UN Security Council.
