China Ex-Energy Regulator: China Imports Crude Based On Demand, Not Politics

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

BOAO, China -(Dow Jones)- China will import crude oil from Iran based on its demand and won't be influenced by the edicts of "some country," the former head of China's National Energy Administration said Sunday.

Speaking at the 2012 Boao Forum in China, Zhang Guobao said recent U.S. and European Union sanctions against importing crude from Iran don't include "halting normal trade."

A U.S. appeal earlier this year for countries to reduce crude imports from Iran has pushed up global crude prices, which has been harmful to the global economy, Zhang added. Higher oil prices combined with slower economic growth will also hurt oil demand, he said. Still, global oil prices probably won't rise much, he added.

Zhang said the release of strategic oil reserves by countries such as the U.S. wouldn't help keep crude prices in check because "releasing inventory only can affect prices for a short time."

Separately, Fu Chengyu, chairman of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (SNP), known as Sinopec Corp., said oil sanctions against Iran will push prices higher, which is bad for the global economic recovery.

Fu added that U.S. President Barack Obama has asked the world to release their strategic oil stockpiles, which has clearly showed the impact and pressures caused by the sanctions.

The Obama administration said last week that it would initiate tougher sanctions against Iran, saying a cutoff of Iranian oil wouldn't significantly harm world markets. The move follows tighter sanctions it signed into law earlier this year targeting financial institutions doing business with Iran's central bank.

The U.S. has exempted almost a dozen countries from sanctions that have demonstrated that they have halted or substantially cut back their imports of Iranian oil. China, however, wasn't named on its list.

-Yajun Zhang contributed to this article; Dow Jones Newswires; (86 10) 8400-7712; yajun.zhang@dowjones.com

--Wayne Ma also contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 01, 2012 11:21 ET (15:21 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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