Business Day
*SA still getting Iranian oil but seeking other suppliers* *Alistair Anderson, Business Day, Johannesburg, 30 March 2012 *CONFUSION over how SA was reacting to US-led sanctions against Iran took another twist yesterday when Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel said the country was still importing oil from Iran, which is facing western pressure over its nuclear programme.
However, Mr Manuel, speaking to the media during an energy conference in Midrand, would not reveal the quantities shipped to SA last month or how severe the reported decrease was.
The confusion began last week when Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim said SA was reducing oil imports from Iran in compliance with US-led sanctions.
He later retracted his earlier comment that "no Iranian oil is flowing into our country. If there is any, it is very little." This week a media report stated that no oil from Iran had entered SA in January.
But Mr Manuel and senior government officials at the energy conference yesterday did note that SA was seeking other oil suppliers.
Mr Manuel said sanctions to prevent Iran from benefiting from oil sales were imposed by the US only, and that SA and other Brics member countries --- Russia, India, China and Brazil --- could act as they pleased. But he declined to answer questions on whether Iran last month ceased being SA's biggest supplier of oil.
"The US is one country sanctioning Iran. The Brics can act as they please. The Brics are at a summit. Why do you want to make an issue of this now?" he said.
Mr Manuel said the exact percentage of oil imported into SA from different countries, including Iran, varied each month.
An official government statement released at the colloquium said no decision had been taken on sanctions against Iran "because the investigation of the response options is far from complete".
"The government is also talking to a number of other countries that supply crude oil to determine what their potential supply is. So far all these engagements have been useful and will enhance the long-term solution that government is working towards," the statement read.
The discussions would be used in an overall response to be presented to the Cabinet by the end of May.
In the meantime, oil and fuel suppliers would work normally, according to the statement.
"The supply of fuel will generally not be impacted by any of the engagements that are currently under way. Nor do we foresee any supply disruptions or impact on the consumer," the statement read.
Accenture SA senior executive Ken Robinson, who has more than a decade's experience in consulting in the energy field, said he was more concerned about the political implications of SA continuing to buy oil from Iran. "When you do business with America's enemies, things can be difficult," said Mr Robinson.
Speculation was that if SA dropped Iran as its most preferred oil supplier, refineries would have to be re-geared to work with oil grades from other countries --- a move that would be costly and slow down supply while adjustments were made.
Meanwhile, delegates at the fourth Brics summit in New Delhi yesterday said dialogue was the only solution to the crises in Syria and Iran.
With Sapa [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> *From: http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=168713* ** ** ** ** -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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