Seoul and Tokyo seek to ease Iran oil ties

[alp227]

Japan and South Korea are seeking new suppliers of crude oil to lessen their dependence on Iran, in response to US pressure to stop buying from the country.

The move comes as Tehran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes, if the west imposes oil sanctions against it.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy, Japan’s biggest refiner, said on Thursday it was talking to Saudi Arabia and other countries to find alternative supplies of crude oil. One person close to the government said Koichiro Gemba, Japan’s foreign minister, was using a visit to the Middle East to “pave the way to get more oil from Saudi”.

South Korea also said it would reduce imports of Iranian crude.

Google the title for full Financial Times article. Clicking the link leads to a paywall.

[FreakinDJ]

1. Europe boycott of Iran oil would cap years of U.S. effort

Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The European Union appears on the verge of banning its member countries from buying Iranian oil, a move that would culminate a years-long behind-the-scenes campaign by two U.S. administrations to cripple that oil-rich nation's lifeblood industry.

Over the years, the Bush and Obama administrations regularly pressured the CEOs of foreign oil companies and key politicians in Europe and even Malaysia to halt their investments in energy projects in Iran and to steer clear of new investment.

The oil companies and governments all tried to walk a fine line between meeting Washington's demands and keeping a foot in the door in Iran, the second largest exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel. That would change with a decision to bar purchases of Iranian oil, a step that EU foreign ministers may take as soon as Jan. 30.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/05/134953/a-europe-boycott-of-iran-oil-would.html#storylink=cpy

[Art_from_Ark]

2. Japan is in a very difficult situation

The country is having to deal with a series of severe economic problems and natural disasters that would have crushed a less resilient country. It is already being squeezed by China's limitations on exports of rare earths, is grappling with an overvalued yen that is hurting exports (the yen is now worth 470% more against the dollar than it was in 1971), is struggling to rebuild 350 miles of coastal towns and infrastructure that were heavily damaged by the tsunami and earthquake, and is scrambling to find alternative ways to generate electricity in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disasters. So now, not only does Japan have to buy more oil to replace its lost nuclear power generating capacity, but it is now being pressured to give up what had been a stable supply of oil and scramble to replace that supply as well.