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Taiwan tries to cut
Iranian oil imports at behest of the US
HARD TO DO: At 6.8% of Taiwan’s crude oil
imports, Iran is the nation’s third-largest source of oil after the DPP had
expanded Iranian crude oil imports
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Taiwan is trying to cut its crude oil imports from Iran after the US expressed
its wish for Taiwan’s inclusion in a collaborative international sanctions
scheme to curb Iran’s nuclear program, sources told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The US and the EU last month approved sanctions on imports of Iranian crude oil
and a freeze of assets of the Iranian central bank, agreeing on a July 1
deadline for countries to end their oil contracts with Iran.
They have been trying to persuade a list of countries, including China, India,
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, to make a commitment on the joint effort. Japan
and South Korea have agreed to implement the sanctions, while China and India
have refused.
“We have discussed with our international partners, including Taiwan, the
implementation of new US sanctions on Iran. These sanctions intensify pressure
on Iran and strengthen the impact of existing measures by targeting transactions
with the Central Bank of [the Islamic Republic of] Iran and designated Iranian
financial institutions and Iran’s ability to earn revenue from its oil imports,”
Christopher Kavanagh, spokesperson of the American Institute in Taiwan, wrote in
an e-mail.
Taiwan would agree to gradually cut crude oil imports from Iran, despite it
being difficult to implement, a national security official said on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
At 6.8 percent of total imports, Iran was Taiwan’s third-largest source of crude
in 2010, behind Saudi Arabia at 33.4 percent and Kuwait at 22.5 percent. Iran
accounted for about 21.4 million barrels in 2010, statistics from the Bureau of
Energy show.
Shares of Taiwan’s Iranian crude oil imports dramatically increased under former
president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration, peaking at 18.3 percent in
2003.
That gradually went down between 2008 and 2010, from 12.94 percent in 2008 to
7.8 percent in 2009 and 6.8 percent in 2010.
Implementing the sanctions will be difficult because Taiwan would be at risk of
breaching contracts, the same issues Japan and South Korea would be dealing
with, the official said.
Moreover, even though the government can order CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) to reduce
imports from Iran, it cannot demand that privately owned Formosa Petrochemical
Corp (台塑石化) to do so, the official said, adding that it would be difficult to
track Iranian oil imports transported via a third country.
Taiwan has always been keen on adhering to resolutions reached by international
organizations, including the UN and EU, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official
said on condition of anonymity.
The ministry official declined to confirm whether Taipei had been approached by
Washington, but said that Taiwan would do its best to implement the sanction if
asked by the US.
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