Ofac Sanctions Major ‘Teapot’ Refinery and Iran ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tankers amid Nuclear Talks

According to US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, Shandong Shengxing Chemical— the refinery sanctioned on Wednesday—received over 28m barrels of Iranian oil since 2019. UANI’s research director Daniel Roth said in a social media post that the group wrote to the refinery two weeks ago warning it that sanctions are likely coming their way. According to preliminary figures from UANI, Tehran exported an average of 1.5m bpd of crude and condensates in 1Q25, roughly unchanged from the corresponding period last year. UANI’s chief of staff Claire Jungman recently told Lloyd’s List that the sharp uptick in Ofac designations at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 created a supply-side shock for Chinese buyers earlier this year, which “triggered a ‘buy now, worry later’ approach,” especially for sanctioned Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan barrels. Refiners in China and India began accelerating purchases in anticipation of tightening enforcement and logistical hurdles, she said.