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Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said on Friday in Bursa that a European Union decision to impose its own embargo on oil imports from Iran, to start from July 1, was not binding for Turkey.
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Iran had responded to the EU’s maneuver by cutting off oil exports to Britain and France. “Since Turkey is not an EU member, the EU’s decisions are not legally binding for us. Turkey can say the same about the decisions of the US,” said Yıldız.
His remarks come amid increasing pressure on customers of Iranian oil to cut supply from the country. Turkey has repeatedly said in the past that no decision of a country or union other than the UN on Iran was binding for it. A UN embargo against Iran now seems unlikely as Russia and China have signaled no intentions to this end thus far.
Turkey imports around 200,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran, covering 30 percent of daily domestic consumption and representing over 7 percent of Iranian oil exports and had renewed its annual purchase agreement for 2012. There have recently been reports in the media that Turkey’s largest oil refiner, Tüpraş, had talks with largest oil producer the Saudis for a possible increase in supply from this country.
Turkey imports oil from various sources, including Russia and Azerbaijan, but its largest supplier is Iran. Oil market experts argue that Iran still remains a relatively more profitable source for Turkey to meet its oil demand.
Oil prices rose to a fresh nine-month high above $108 a barrel Friday in Asia amid signs the US economy is improving against a backdrop of elevated tensions in the Middle East over Iran’s nuclear program. Brent crude was up 55 cents to $124.17 per barrel in London. Evaluating the price increases, Yıldız said the government followed the fluctuations in global oil markets with concern at a time the energy-dependant country struggles with a widening current account deficit (CAD). Describing the latest rises in oil prices in markets as “speculative,” Yıldız said he did not see a dramatic change in demand and supply that could spur a hike in oil prices. “I must stress that the latest fluctuations in oil markets put a burden on Turkey. The price per barrel of oil reaching $124 would mean an additional burden of $4 billion on the Turkish economy. This is not an amount you can ignore,” he noted.
Meanwhile, an ongoing rise in crude prices in global markets continued to push oil prices in Turkey higher as the price of diesel oil increased by a Kr 8 and Kr 9 hike on Thursday. Following the latest hike, the price per liter of diesel oil increased to TL 3.88 in rural and regional areas around İstanbul. It rose to TL 2.89 in Ankara. The reason prices vary from province to province is due to competition and the fuel distribution companies operating in those areas. The price of gasoline increased to Kr 7 on Wednesday.
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Source : todayszaman.com
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