Iran stops sales of crude oil to UK, France

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Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the nation's lifeblood, oil.

"Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped ... we will sell our oil to new customers," a spokesman was quoted saying on the ministry of petroleum's website.

The EU in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear program.

Iran's oil minister said on Feb 4 that Teheran would cut its oil exports to "some" European countries.

The European Commission said last week that the bloc would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in stock to meet their needs for around 120 days.

Industry sources told Reuters on Feb 16 that Iran's top oil buyers in Europe were making substantial cuts in supply months in advance of EU sanctions, reducing flows to the continent in March by more than a third - or over 300,000 barrels daily.

France's Total has already stopped buying Iran's crude, which is subject to fresh EU embargoes. Market sources said Royal Dutch Shell has scaled back sharply.

Iran was supplying more than 700,000 barrels per day to the EU plus Turkey in 2011, industry sources said.

By the start of this year imports had sunk to about 650,000 bpd as some customers cut back in anticipation of an EU ban.

Saudi Arabia says it is prepared to supply extra oil either by topping up existing term contracts or by making rare spot market sales. Iran has criticized Riyadh for the offer.

The EU's new sanctions includes a range of extra restrictions on Iran that went well beyond UN sanctions agreed last month and included a ban on dealing with Iranian banks and insurance companies and steps to prevent investment in Teheran's lucrative oil and gas sector, including refining.

Questions:

1. When will the EU stop importing crude from Iran?

2. How many days worth of stock does the EU have at the moment?

3. How many barrels per day was Iran supplying to the EU plus Turkey in 2011?

Answers:

1. July 1

2. 120 days

3. 700,000

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About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.