Energy

In January 2021, the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury listed SK Energy as a company engaged in prohibited activities in Iran pursuant to P.L. 2012, c. 25 ("Chapter 25"). 

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On October 14, 2020, SK Energy remained on the Tennesse Department of General Services list of persons it determines engage in investment activities in Iran, as described in 12-12-105.

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As of July 1, 2020, SK Energy is listed as an entity “determined, based on credible information available to the public, to be engaged in prohibited activities in Iran pursuant to New Jersey P.L. 2012, c.25 (“Chapter 25”). 

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In 2020, the U.S. state of Mississippi listed SK Energy on its state lists of Companies Doing Business with the Iranian Petroleum/Natural Gas, Nuclear and Military Sectors, rendering it ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

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As of June 8, 2020, SK Energy is listed on the Pennsylvania Department of General Services Iran Free Procurement List. Entities included on this list are ineligible to enter into a contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for goods and services worth at least $1,000,000 per sections 3501-3506 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 Pa. C.S. §§ 3501-3506.  

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As of April 15, 2020, SK Energy is included as an entity determined to be non-responsive bidders/offerers pursuant to The New York State Iran Divestment Act of 2012.  

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As of April 15, 2020, SK Energy is included on the Tennessee list of persons it determines engage in investment activities in Iran, as described in § 12-12-105. 

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On March 13, 2019, the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration identified SK Energy as a company “engaged in investment activities in Iran, providing funds, goods or services valued at $20,000,000 or more in the energy sector of Iran.”  

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In 2018 and 2019 Tennessee used the New York list of “Entities determined to be non-responsive bidders/offerers pursuant to the New York State Iran Divestment Act of 2012.” SK Energy was included on this list in 2018 and 2019. Tennessee states "Inclusion on this list would make a person ineligible to contract with the state of Tennessee, if a person ceases its engagement in investment activities in Iran, it may be removed from the list."

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“South Korea's crude imports from Iran surged 104 percent in February from a year earlier as refiners hiked purchases ahead of maintenance shutdown starting from March, according to the country's customs data and a refining source. South Korea imported 1.1 million tonnes of Iranian crude last month, or 294,069 barrels per day (bpd), up 4.5 times from January and double from a year earlier, preliminary customs data showed on Saturday…’The two refiners had to hike the imports ahead of maintenance shutdown starting from March. Before and after the maintenance, refiners usually import more to meet annual import contracts,’ a Seoul-based refining source told Reuters. Of four South Korean refiners, SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only ones that buy Iranian oil on a regular basis. Their Iranian crude imports can vary from month to month as one of the two refiners that buy from the OPEC receives the oil only every other month. SK Energy will shut a 260,000 bpd No. 5 crude distillation unit (CDU) and a 57,000-bpd No.1 gasoline-making unit in the second quarter for maintenance, a spokesman at parent SK Innovation Co Ltd said. Hyundai Oilbank will shut its No.1 110,000-bpd CDU in April for maintenance, it said last month.” (Reuters, “S.Korea Feb Iran oil imports soar ahead of shutdown," 3/15/14)

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"South Korea's Iranian crude imports fell in October from September, meeting a targetted 15 percent cut in its shipments from the OPEC member for the June-November period to secure an extension of its six-month U.S. sanctions waiver…outh Korea imported 420,402 tonnes of Iranian crude last month, or 99,405 barrels per day (bpd), down more than a quarter compared with September and down nearly a half from a year earlier, preliminary customs data showed on Friday…The total means South Korea met the 125,814 bpd it aims to achieve in its imports from Iran in the six months through November…South Korea's Iranian crude imports vary from month to month as one of the two Korean refiners that buys from Iran receives oil only every other month, according to industry sources. The imports unexpectedly jumped in July from the year-earlier period before dropping off again in August. SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only South Korean refiners that take Iranian oil on a regular basis. South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, imported a total of 10.7 million tonnes of crude last month against 11.1 million tonnes in October 2012, data from the Korea Customs Service also showed on Friday." (Reuters, "S.Korea's Oct Iran oil imports drop, meet target," 11/15/13)

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"South Korean refiners SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only two in the country to import Iranian crude. Spokesmen at both refiners declined to comment." (Reuters, "South Korea Pledges 15 Percent Cut to Iran Oil Imports," 06/24/13)

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"South Korea's imports of Iranian crude in March fell 16.2 percent from a year ago to 4.02 million barrels, data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corp showed on Monday, after its biggest refiner SK Energy shut a crude unit for maintenance... But imports from sanctions-hit Iran should surge month-on-month to 190,000 bpd in April as SK Energy's 110,000-bpd crude distillation unit returned to operation on April 16 after 30 days of maintenance... Its two buyers of Iranian crude, refiners SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank, are shutting a combined 560,000 bpd of refinery capacity for planned maintenance between March and June." (Reuters, "Update 1 - S.Korea's Iran Crude Imports for March Down 16.2 pct Y/Y," 4/22/2013)

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"South Korean refiners will cut imports of Iranian crude during the six months to May by about a fifth from a year earlier, to avoid sanctions by Washington, government and industry sources told Reuters on Monday. Last week the United States granted 180-day waivers on Iran sanctions to China, India, South Korea and some other countries after they cut oil purchases from the Islamic Republic... South Korea, the world's fifth largest importer of crude, and one of Iran's biggest oil customers, gave the assurance on the size of the cuts in talks with the United States following discussions with Korean refiners, the sources said. Such a cut would imply South Korean imports of about 147,814 barrels per day (bpd) over the period to next May, since the country imported 184,767 bpd of Iranian crude from December 2011 to May 2012. Two refiners, SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank, now import about 200,000 barrels per day of crude from Iran." (Reuters, "South Korea to Cut Iran Crude Imports 20 Percent," 12/10/12)

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"South Korea's biggest oil refiner SK Energy loaded a second cargo of crude in Iran last week, a government source said on Wednesday, as Seoul resumes Iranian oil shipments after a near two-month gap caused by a European Union ban on insurance cover... A spokesman for SK Energy's parent firm confirmed last week that another Iranian cargo of the same volume was already on its way to South Korea. 'SK Energy lifted its second cargo in Iran last week,' said the source at South Korea's economy ministry, adding that SK Energy's first cargo had not arrived yet in Korea. SK Energy and its parent SK Innovation declined to comment... Of South Korea's four refiners, only SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import Iranian crude. SK Energy's term contracts with Iran this year provide for imports of two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) of crude per month, or 4 million barrels, and Hyundai Oilbank imports one VLCC per month, or 2 million barrels, according to the economy ministry source." (Reuters, "S.Korea's SK Energy lifts 2nd Iran crude cargo-source," 9/26/2012)

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"South Korean refiners will resume imports of up to 200,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude from September, economy ministry sources said on Monday, ending a two-month gap due to a European Union ban on insurance cover for Iranian oil... Total imports envisaged at resumption will be six million barrels per month, or 200,000 bpd. SK Energy will import four million barrels per month and Hyundai Oilbank will import two million barrels per month, the economy ministry source added. This is the volume refiners agreed in term contracts with Iran for this year... A spokesman at SK Innovation, which owns SK Energy, told Reuters last Friday that the talks with Iran were progressing well, and the refiner expected to resume the imports around September loading." (Reuters, "S.Korea to resume Iran oil imports from Sept -econ min sources," 8/20/12)

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"South Korean refiners plan to resume buying crude from Iran in September after a two-month hiatus due to a European Union embargo that made shipping the oil difficult, government and refining sources said on Wednesday. The refiners have, like their Chinese and Indian counterparts, asked Iran to deliver crude on Iranian tankers, government and industry sources said. This shifts the responsibility to Iran for insurance, sidestepping a ban in the EU on insurers from covering Iranian shipments... South Korean refiners and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) are close to finalising a deal that would allow loading to resume from September, sources said.'Refiners have requested Iran to deliver crude, and the deal is almost reached,' a government source with direct knowledge of the matter said... Two refining sources confirmed the request had been made to NITC. SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only two South Korean refiners that import Iranian crude. The refiners would buy a similar quantity of oil as they had prior to the July stoppage, sources said. There may be some variance month by month due to the size of vessels available for imports from NITC, one refining source said." (Reuters, "S.Korea to resume buying Iranian crude in Sept," 8/8/12)

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"There's a 'high chance' that South Korea will resume importing Iranian crude oil in the near future, Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Sukwoo said Thursday… Iranian officials have since offered accident insurance coverage worth a maximum of $1 billion on Iranian tankers shipping crude oil to South Korea, a Hyundai Oilbank official said earlier this month. Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy, the two South Korean refiners that imported Iranian crude, are considering Iran's offer to provide shipping services, officials from both companies have said… South Korea usually imports around 10% of its crude-oil requirements from Iran, but that percentage declined to 7.4% in the first six months of this year." (Dow Jones, "S Korea Oil Imports to Iran Seen Restarting," 7/26/12)

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"South Korea became the first major Asian consumer of Iranian crude to announce a halt to imports after the government said they would be suspended from July 1 due to a European Union ban on insuring tankers carrying Iranian oil... Of South Korea's four refiners, only SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import Iranian crude. Sources said both refiners will stop importing from Iran when the EU insurance embargo takes effect from July 1." (Reuters, "South Korea to halt Iran oil imports as EU ban bites," 6/25/12)

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"Earlier this month, two South Korean shipping companies said they had suspended importing Iranian crude due to a separate EU embargo set to come into force from July. SK Shipping, which handles the needs of refiner SK Energy, said it shipped its last cargo from Iran early this month and it would arrive by the end of June... SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only Korean refiners still importing Iranian oil. They said the suspension was temporary as Seoul seeks an exemption from the EU measures." (France 24, "S.Korea reports sharp fall in Iran oil imports,"6/25/12)

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"SK Innovation fully owns SK Energy, the country's largest oil refiner, which relies on Iran for around 10%-15% of its crude-oil imports." (The Wall Street Journal, "Official: South Korea Has No Plans To Halt Iran Crude," 5/22/2012)

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"South Korea's largest oil refiner SK Energy <096770.KS> will stop Iranian oil imports after the ban takes effect, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday... 'SK Energy won't lift Iranian crude oil after lifting a 2 million barrel cargo in early June,' one of the two sources said. SK Energy will not import Iranian oil for July arrival.'... SK Energy had agreed to import 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude this year under a long-term supply deal, while Hyundai Oilbank had agreed to import 70,000 bpd." (Reuters, "Exclusive: South Korea poised to halt Iran oil imports from July: sources," 5/21/2012)
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"South Korea will make sharp cuts in imports of Iranian crude from June as tightening Western sanctions make it impossible to secure insurance cover for tankers to ship the crude, industry and company sources said... With no resolution in sight, Hyundai Oilbank, one of two buyers of Iranian oil in South Korea, has decided to stop lifting cargoes from June, industry sources told Reuters. But bigger counterpart SK Energy is sticking with its plan to lift annual committed volumes at least until June. For July onwards, SK Energy, the country's largest refiner, is in talks with the government to secure insurance cover for tankers shipping the oil. If the government disagrees, the company will have little option but to halt purchases, said the sources, who declined to be identified as they are not authorized to talk to the media." (Chicago Tribune, "South Korea's Iran crude imports to plunge from June: sources," 4/26/12)

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"SK Energy will buy the additional crude, taking 130,000 bpd in 2012, up 10,000 bpd on the year, a government source said. An SK Energy spokesman declined to comment when asked about the deal... SK Energy could replace Iranian oil with imports from elsewhere in the Middle East if it needed to, although that might cost more money, an SK Energy source said." (Reuters, "S.Korea buys more Iran oil but eyes alternatives," 1/4/2012)

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"'We don't see any impact on crude imports from Iran,' a source at South Korea's largest refiner SK Energy said. 'While we cannot disclose the term import barrels for 2011, I can tell next year's oil import from Iran will continue as much as this year's.'

 An official at Hyundai Oilbank also said the term volume for 2011 will be stable from 2010. SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only buyers of Iranian crude in the country among four refiners.    Trade with Iran accounts for less than 1.5 percent of South Korea's overall trade but Iran is an important supplier of crude oil to South Korea, which imports all of its crude needs.

 Iran is South Korea's fourth-largest crude supplier. South Korea imported 67.1 million barrels of Iranian crude between January and November this year, accounting for 8 percent of the country's total crude imports, down about 10 percent from a year earlier." (Reuters, "Iran's Asian crude buyers see flow steady despite financial sanctions," 12/30/10)

"Solar Turbines, a division of Caterpillar, requested this license because it wanted to bid on a project to build a natural mixing station needed by the Turkish government-owned pipeline company, Botas. In its application, Solar Turbines acknowledged that the mixing station in Sivas, Turkey, would serve a pipeline that carried Iranian gas through Turkey and into Western Europe.

The United States has a clear-cut policy that it does not support pipelines that deliver Iranian gas to customers outside that country’s borders, for the simple reason that Iran’s huge natural gas resources prop up its economy and help finance pursuits like its nuclear program. But in this case, the company argued, the station would primarily serve a different, United States-supported pipeline called the Shah Deniz, which pipes gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey, and thus would reduce reliance on Iranian gas. In fact, according to Botas and Turkish Embassy officials, the opposite was true. A Turkish diplomat, Tuncay Babali, said that back in 2005, when this license was issued, 'the Sivas station was primarily for Iran gas, actually.' And that is still the case today, according to Oguz Zimamoglu, the head of Botas's central gas control unit. 'Primarily the gas flowing from Sivas is Iranian gas,' he said. A Caterpillar spokesman, Jim Dugan, said the company relied on the best information it had in making its application, while OFAC said in a statement that its decision was the product of an interagency review that found that 'notwithstanding an Iranian nexus,' granting the license was in America’s foreign policy interest. In the end, another company won the right to build the station. But Elliott Abrams, who at the time served as the deputy national security adviser and should have been involved in any interagency review, said the fact that Solar Turbines was allowed to bid raises questions about the government’s vetting process. He did not recall any debate on the issue, which he called 'surprising' because 'the issues are significant.'" (New York Times, "Licenses Granted to U.S. Companies Run the Gamut," 12/24/10)

Lists Precision Drilling (Dorood) Kish PJSC and Saddr Oilfield Services Kish on its 2017 SEC filings as a Weatherford International Ltd subsidiary and/or affiliate.

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"The United States on Tuesday announced one of the biggest settlements ever made for corporate misbehavior overseas, chronicling a litany of charges against a leading energy services provider. The charges included bribery and kickbacks in the Middle East and Africa and systematic defiance of economic sanctions on Iran and three other countries…The Securities and Exchange Commission said the company that settled, Weatherford International Ltd., a Swiss provider of oil and gas services that operates in more than 100 countries, had agreed to pay more than $250 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws from 2002 to 2011. The settlement included $91 million in fines and penalties related to illicit dealings with Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria that violated a range of American sanctions on those countries from 2003 to 2007. The Treasury Department, in its own announcement, said the settlement was the largest for sanctions violations outside the banking industry. A number of federal agencies, including the S.E.C., the Treasury, and the Justice and Commerce Departments, collaborated on the investigation into Weatherford’s behavior, described in the Treasury announcement as 'egregious actions which compromised U.S. sanctions.' Weatherford, which had acknowledged that it was under investigation and that it was cooperating, said in a statement from its global headquarters in Geneva that it had set aside the money for the settlement and wanted to move on. 'This matter is now behind us,' Bernard J. Duroc-Danner, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive, said in the statement. 'With the internal policies and controls currently in place, we maintain a best-in-class compliance program and uphold the highest of ethical standards as we provide the industry’s leading products and services to our customers worldwide.' In papers filed in federal court in Houston, where Weatherford has significant operations, the S.E.C. said the company had authorized 'bribes and improper travel and entertainment for foreign officials in the Middle East and Africa to win business.' It said the misconduct also included kickbacks paid in Iraq to obtain contracts under the famously corrupt and now defunct United Nations oil-for-food program, which was established in the mid-1990s and ended in 2003 after the American-led invasion of Iraq. Weatherford’s bribery transgressions, according to the complaint, included the creation of a Middle East 'slush fund' to pay foreign officials; payments to Algerian officials for a World Cup tournament trip, a daughter’s honeymoon and a religious pilgrimage; and misappropriation of funds by managers in Italy for items like golf equipment and perfume. Weatherford employees also created false accounting and inventory records from 2002 to 2007 to hide 'illegal commercial sales to Cuba, Syria, Sudan and Iran,' the complaint said. Both the sales and the efforts to conceal them, it said, violated a range of export control laws and regulations concerning those countries. Treasury officials said the timing of the announcement was unrelated to the nuclear agreement, which was announced on Sunday in Geneva and gives Iran relief, for the first time in 10 years, from some of the sanctions imposed against it…'The real question is whether the Treasury Department will be permitted politically to enforce current sanctions for current illicit activity,' said Mark Wallace, the chief executive of United Against Nuclear Iran, a New York-based group that has pushed for stronger sanctions on Iran." (New York Times, "Firm Charged With Defying Sanctions Settles With U.S.," 11/27/13)

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"In July 2007, this Houston-based oil-drilling and oil field services company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had been notified that the Bureau of Industry and Security and Department of Justice were investigating allegations of improper sales of products and services in sanctioned countries. Weatherford subsequently announced plans to get out of Iran, as well as Sudan, Syria and Cuba. This license authorized the company to enter into dealings to make good on that promise. A similar license was issued enabling the company to withdraw from Sudan." (New York Times, "Licenses Granted to U.S. Companies Run the Gamut," 12/24/10)

FMC Technologies merged with France's technip in January 2017 to form TechnipFMC. (November 2017)

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"This license involved the settlement of a legal dispute. Before the imposition of the sanctions against Iran, FMC had a trade contract with Daewoo UK to provide equipment and perform installation and warranty work at a facility on Kharg Island in Iran. The ultimate contracting authority for the project was the National Iranian Oil Company. After sanctions were imposed, FMC ceased all work on the project. Daewoo then initiated a legal claim against FMC. For complex legal reasons, the payment of a $710,000 settlement by FMC to Daewoo required a license from OFAC." (New York Times, "Licenses Granted to U.S. Companies Run the Gamut," 12/24/10)

In March 2010, Germany’s Bayerngas GmbH, a subsidiary of the Norweigan oil and gas company Bayerngas Norge, pulled out of a development plan for a “major natural gas filling station which was to have 100 filling stations to service 100,000 cars.”

"Enap, Chile’s state oil company, plans to divest its stake in Iran’s Mehr block and exit the country. Speaking Wednesday at the Oil & Gas Outlook LatAm 2009 conference in Houston, Alison Saffery, Enap’s head of structured finance, said Enap plans to return its share in Mehr to the Iranian government. Enap has a 33% stake in an exploration contract for the Mehr block, which is located in southwestern Khuzestan province near Iraq and Kuwait." (Oil Daily, "Chile's Enap to Divest Stake in Iran Block," 10/30/2009)

SABIC signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran's PCCI in 2002 to export 500,000 tons of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) over five years. MTB is "a gasoline additive that replaces lead to raise the gasoline octane number and reduces harmful gas emissions from vehicles and engines." (European Fuel Oxygenates Association, "Sabic exports 500,000 tonnes of MTBE to Iran," 7/16/2002)

In September 2015 AGIP celebrated the launch of its Iran office with a high-profile reception.

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Agip is an Eni subsidiary that operates in the North Caspian Sea.

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"Another trader said the market was aware that Italian firms Agip (ENI.MI) and Saras (SRS.MI) were importing Iranian crude with the financing help from Italian banks. Agip and Saras were not immediately available for comments." (Reuters, "Shell, Italy maintain Iran oil trade," 9/28/10)

"May stop purchases of Iranian oil because of the difficulty of findings banks to finance the trade." Benoit Faucon and Sarah McFarlane, "King Dollar Tightens Noose on Iranian Economy," The Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2018.

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“We cannot defy the United States,” said a senior source at Italy’s Saras, which operates the 300,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) Sarroch refinery in Sardinia. Saras is determining how best to halt its purchasing of Iranian oil within the permitted 180 days, the source said, adding: “It is not clear yet what the U.S. administration can do but in practice we can get into trouble.” (6/6/2018).

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"Italian refiner Saras is worried about the market not having access to Iranian crude oil in light of new possible U.S. sanctions against Tehran. “I am worried about the overall scenario,” Saras CEO Dario Scaffardi said on a conference call. He said Iran was one of Saras’s main crude suppliers, though not the only one, adding for the time being nothing had changed." (5/14/2018)

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Italian oil refiner Saras (SRS.MI) has paid 160 million euros ($177 million) of the debt it owes Iran for crude oil bought before sanctions were imposed and its chief financial officer said the total debt to Tehran will be cleared next year. Analysts have estimated the company's Iranian debt at about 350 million euros and the company said it paid 50 million euros in the second quarter and 110 million euros in the third. "A further 100 million euros will be paid by year-end," CFO Franco Balsamo told analysts in a conference call on Monday's third-quarter results. "The rest will be paid in 2017." (Reuters, "Italy's Saras says it will clear Iranian oil debt in 2017," 11/8/2016).

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"Iran continues its quest for new crude buyers, especially in Europe, but its loyal customer base will continue to hinge on countries like India and China, whose demand for Iranian crude has observed a steady rise this year. Iran has found interest for its crude in some unusual places in the past few months as it continues it diversify its list of buyers. Earlier this month it agreed to sell 1 million barrels of crude oil to Hungary via Croatia as it seeks to widen its post-sanctions customer base, which now includes cargoes sold to oil major BP, France's Total, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum, Spain's Repsol and Cepsa, Russia's Lukoil, Poland's Grupa Lotos, Portugal's Petrogal and Italy's Saras and Iplom. Iran said it has held talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina this week as it hopes to expand its list of crude oil export destinations. However, its shipments to Asia remain the pillar of its export market." (Platts, "Analysis: Iran eyes new crude oil buyers, Asia remains linchpin," 11/1/2016).

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A report from June 2016 noted, "Saras SpA and Iplom SpA, have reportedly signed long term contracts with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to purchase crude oil from Iran. As of this week, in a contact with Saras SpA, Iran will export 60,000 to 65,000 barrels of oil per day to the company's refineries for one year." (Press TV, “Italians seal oil purchase deals with Iran,” 6/23/2016). 

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Dario Scaffardi, Saras’s Managing Director, discussed Saras’s engagement in the Iranian market, noting some banking difficulties. On such difficulties, he said, “I hope these will be resolved soon and we can start in a few months, maybe even weeks.”  (Reuters, “Saras looking to resume Iran crude trade in coming months,” 4/22/2016). 

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In April 2016, “Italy’s two largest oil and gas companies, Eni and Saras, seek to buy 170,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Iran. Eni and Saras have submitted their requests to the Iranian oil ministry for the purchase of 100,000 bpd and 70,000 bpd respectively.” (Tasnim News Agency, “Italian Firms Eye Importing 170,000 bpd of Crude from Iran,” 4/11/2016).

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"Other oil companies in the Mediterranean including Spain's Cepsa and three other Italian oil firms, ERG, Iplom and Saras have planned to take their last cargoes from Iran in June, other market sources said." (Reuters, "Eni suspends Iran's debt payments in oil," 5/31/2012)

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Saras imported 20,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day in both March and April of 2012. (Reuters, "Europe's Buyers Trim Iranian Oil Imports in April," 4/18/12)

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"Trading sources told Reuters that Italy's Saras, ERG and Iplom, Greece's Hellenic as well as Spain's Repsol have either extended or have not scrapped existing term supply contacts with Iran for 2012... Italian refiner Saras said it received about 10 percent of its feedstock from the Islamic Republic in 2011. 'A ban on Iran exports would cause a shortage in heavy crude oils, putting further pressure on already high oil prices, and compressing margins for all refiners,' said Massimo Vacca, Saras' head of investor relations." (Reuters, "EU firms renew Iran oil deals to win sanction reprieve," 1/12/12)

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"Italian oil refiner Saras SpA (SRS.MI), traditionally a big buyer of Libyan crude oil, said in a Reuters interview on Friday that it was looking at replacing oil shipments from Libya and had already slightly increased sour crude supplies from Iran." (Reuters, "Iran sells more oil as Libyan exports dwindle," 2/25/11)

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"Oil trade with Iran remains more difficult following tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic, industry sources said, despite a message from the European Union that such operations are legal. Saras, an Italian oil refiner, said last week that transactions with Iran have become more challenging as banks are reluctant to get involved. Other European oil companies have made similar remarks privately. 'The banking side is the tough part. It is very tough. It has to be banks that haven't got any kind of interests in the United States,' said an Iranian crude oil customer in Europe. Iran is a major oil exporter and its production is equal to about 4.2 percent of daily world demand. The amount of Iranian crude sold to countries that are members of the International Energy Agency declined by 22 percent in August." (Reuters, "Credit hurdles remain hindrance to Iran oil trade," 11/18/10)

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"Another trader said the market was aware that Italian firms Agip (ENI.MI) and Saras (SRS.MI) were importing Iranian crude with the financing help from Italian banks. Agip and Saras were not immediately available for comments." (Reuters, "Shell, Italy maintain Iran oil trade," 9/28/10)

"Open sources reported that Hin Leong Trading sold refined petroleum products, including diesel and gas oil, to Iran in 2009." (U.S. Government Accountability Office, Report: "Firms Reported in Open Sources to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products between January 1, 2009 and June,")