Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 23 / Trend D.Khatinoglu
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have imposed tougher sanctions against Iran on Monday, which target Iran's petrochemical industry and its oil and gas business.
French President Nikola Sarkozi called upon Europe Union, the U.S., Japan and other allies to avoid using Iran's crude as well.
Sanctions against Iran's petrochemical sector may be abortive, Chief of the Energy Security Division at the Singaporean Energy Studies Institute Homman Peimani told Trend.
Peimani said East Asia is keen to import Iran's crude and petrochemical production andIran's Asian markets may avoid accompanying with sanctions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement Tuesday saying Russia sees such extraterritorial measures as unacceptable and against international law.
China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it opposes unilateral sanctions against Iran.
Ethnic Iranian expert Peimani believes that Iran's priority is refining its crude to export and its Asian markets need Iran's petrochemical production, then imposing measures to cut relations between Iran and Asia markets is complicated issue.
According to the U.S. energy Information Administration (EIA) report, published on Nov.21, Iran's net oil export revenues amounted to approximately $73 billion in 2010. Oil exports provide half of Iran's government revenues, while crude oil and its derivatives account for nearly 80 percent of Iran's total exports.
China as Iran's first oil customer increased oil imports from this country from 426,000 barrels per day in last year to 543,000 barrels per day in 2011. Iran is currently main exporter of methanol and the fourth largest exporter of styrene monomer to China, as well. Iranian-Chinese trade turnover increased by 34 percent to $38 billion in first ten months of current year.
According to EIA report, China, India, South Korea, and Turkey have increased their imports of Iranian crude oil this year.
Iran says it is not concerned about EU oil embargo. "Iran has exported over $8 billion worth of petrochemical products in the first seven months of the Iranian current calendar year which began on March 21, 2011 and plans to increase its exports to $12 billion by late year", the National Petrochemical Company's managing director Abdol-Hossein Bayat said.
According to OPEC statistics, published in May, Iran's refinery capacity increased by 18 percent in 2010 compared to previous year.
Iran has nine refineries including Abadan, Arak, Bandar Abbas, Isfahan, Tabriz, Tehran, Lavan Island, Shiraz and Kermanshah with 1.5 million barrels refinery capacity in day.
This country has issued permission to construct six new oil refineries with a combined refining capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day as well.