UANI

Zhuhai Zhenrong is a state-owned enterprise. 

--

"China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, the firm that started Beijing's Iran oil business, expects to maintain its crude oil contract with Tehran at a steady volume for 2013, unfazed by tightening Western sanctions, trading officials told Reuters... Zhuhai Zhenrong, sanctioned early this year by Washington for supplying gasoline to Iran, would keep importing around 230,000 barrels of Iranian crude each day in 2013, a contract volume that has barely changed over the past decade. This figure would be just over half the total imports this year into China. Beijing is Iran's top oil buyer and trading partner, buying almost half of Terhan's total exports of crude... 'Since Zhenrong is already on the blacklist, it fears no more political pressure (to cut),' said a senior Chinese oil trader with direct knowledge of Zhenrong's operations. The ultimate customer of Zhenrong's Iranian crude supply is state refining giant Sinopec Corp, which has yet to conclude a separate contract with the National Iranian Oil Company." (Reuters, "China's Zhenrong to maintain Iran oil imports for 2013," 12/21/12)

--

"Some firms on the list already are the targets of federal sanctions. They include the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela, the Belorussian firm Belarusneft, China's Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., Singapore's FAL Oil Co. and Kuo Oil, and Switzerland-based Naftiran. Others, including Angola's Sonangol, reportedly have pulled out of Iran in response to international sanctions." (The Baltimore Sun, "22 companies are listed for alleged Iran ties, sanctions," 9/17/2012)

--

"Iran's fuel oil exports fell nearly 50 percent from May to June, according to industry sources, adding to declines earlier this year and to the strain on Tehran's finances as sanctions have hit its oil trade…Western sanctions do not specifically ban the purchase of Iran's fuel oil but instead target the financing and shipping insurance needed to buy and transport Iranian cargoes, creating difficulties for would-be customers that effectively have slashed trade with Iran.

No one is willing to insure any Iran-related oil cargo,' a Gulf-based trader said. 'Plus the trade has to be in any other currency than the dollar.'

More than half of Iran's June fuel oil exports were lifted by oil trader Vitol. Syrian refiner Sytrol received around 75,000 tonnes, while China's ZhenRong lifted around 83,000 tonnes, according to the data." (Reuters, "Iran fuel oil exports plummet in June-industry data," 7/12/12)

 --

"Most of the oil that goes from Iran to China is handled by the Unipec trading arm of Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company, and through another trading company called Zhuhai Zhenrong, the oil industry executives said. The trade is worth as much as $20 billion-$30 billion annually according to industry estimates, but a share of it is in barter form. Zhuhai Zhenrong, for example, pays Iran for its oil by providing services such as drilling, these people add." (Financial Times, "Iran Accepts Renminbi for Crude Oil," 5/8/2012)

--

"Iran is helping its ally Syria defy Western sanctions by providing a vessel to ship Syrian oil to a state-run company in China, potentially giving the government of President Bashar al-Assad a financial boost worth an estimated $80 million.The source named the Chinese buyer as Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, a state-run company hit by U.S. sanctions in January.  A Zhuhai Zhenrong spokeswoman said: "I've never heard about this." She declined further comment." (Reuters, "Iran helps Syria ship oil to China,"  3/30/12) 

--

"European trader Vitol and China's Tianbao have both chartered tankers to lift fuel oil from Iran, the first such fixtures seen in nearly a month, traders and shipbrokers said Tuesday.  Vitol has chartered Olympic Spirit II to lift 80,000 metric tons of fuel oil from Bandar Mahshahr on March 27, while Tianbao has chartered Alberta to take 80,000 tons of fuel oil from Bandar Mahshahr April 10, in what is the first fixture for April loading reported by shipbrokers, they said.  Tianbao is a unit of Chinese state-run trader Zhuhai Zhenrong, which was placed under sanctions by the U.S. in January for allegedly selling gasoline to Tehran." (Wall Street Journal, "Vitol, Tianbao Plan To Lift Iran Fuel-Oil- Traders, Brokers" 3/27/12)

--

"The US state department announced late on Thursday that penalties would be imposed on China’s Zhuhai Zhenrong, the Singapore-based oil trader Kuo Oil, and the United Arab Emirates-based independent oil trader FAL... A spokesperson for Zhuhai Zhenrong said the company had not sold gasoline to Iran. 'We’ve never exported a barrel, not even a wee bit of refined fuel to Iran,' said Zheng Mei, director of the public affairs department... Zhuhai Zhenrong is a state-owned oil trader based in Southern China. The company has a special mandate from the State Council to do crude trades that offset military trade debt with Middle Eastern countries, according to its website... Ms Zheng, the spokesperson for Zhenrong, said the company would continue buying Iranian crude. 'Zhuhai Zhenrong’s trade with Iran is carried out under the two governments. The trade accords with international law and Chinese laws and regulations,' she said. 'What we’ve signed with Iran are long-term contracts and we import around 12m tonnes of crude from Iran each year,' Ms Zheng said. 'We’ve never exported gasoline to Iran. This is out of thin air!' The US state department said Zhuhai Zhenrong is Iran’s largest supplier of refined oil products, brokering sales of gasoline worth more than $500m between July 2010 and January 2011. The sanctions are likely to have little immediate impact on Zhenrong because the company does very little, if any, business in the US.(Financial Times, "US sanctions Chinese oil trader," 1/13/2012)

--

"Open sources reported that Zhuhai Zhenrong sold gasoline to Iran in 2010." (U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report: "Firms Reported in Open Sources to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products between January 1, 2009 and June," September 3, 2010)

--

"China's state-run Zhuhai Zhenrong, which started buying oil from Iran more than a decade ago and was among the first buyer to heed Tehran's call to pay in euro instead of U.S. dollars, has extended its agreement with National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) to import 240,000 bpd of crude for 2009." (Reuters, "FACTBOX-Iran's major oil customers, energy customers," 6/5/09)

--

"Chinese state oil trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corporation has agreed with National Iranian Oil Company to buy 240,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude this year, the same amount as last year." (Upstream Online, Zhuhai Zhenron buys Iranian Crude, 1/21/11) 

--

"Russian oil giant LUKOIL has resumed gasoline sales into Iran together with China's state-run firm Zhuhai Zhenrong, even as the United States urges the global community to be tough with Tehran... Chinese companies have delivered about half of Iran's gasoline imports in recent months. State-run Zhenrong is the single largest lifter of Iranian crude oil." (Reuters, Lukoil resumes gasoline supply to Iran, 8/11/10)

--

Zhuhai Zhenrong, one of four government-backed crude oil importers in China, has agreed to buy more than 110 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran over 25 years, which could be the largest LNG purchase deal in the world.The company signed a framework agreement earlier this month to buy 2.5 million tons of LNG annually from Iran starting in 2008, the company announced in a statement posted on the website of the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on March 17. (China Chemical Reporter, China signs LNG contract with Iran, 2/24/04)