Turkey's Tupras in talks with US for Iran sanctions waiver: Sources

Turkey’s top refiner, Tupras, is in talks with US officials to obtain a waiver allowing it to keep buying Iranian oil after Washington reinstates sanctions on Tehran’s energy sector in November, industry sources said.

“They would like to be able to continue importing 3-4 cargoes a month, like they did during the previous sanctions round. But if the US would tell them to stop, they will oblige and work towards achieving that,” the source said, Reuters reported on Thursday.

A Tupras spokeswoman was not available for comment. Also, Turkey’s Energy Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Turkey imported around 97,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in August and 133,000 bpd in September, compared with just over 240,000 bpd in April, tanker tracking and shipping data showed.

The United States is preparing to impose the new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry after Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the 5+1 group earlier this year, but is also considering offering waivers to some allies that rely on Iranian supplies.

ME