UAE TAKES STEPS TO cOMPly WiTH lOOMinG US SAncTiOnS AGAinST iRAn

SINGAPORE — The UAE appears to be taking steps to comply with looming US sanctions against Iran’s energy industry.

Dubai is the UAE’s main importer of Iranian oil.

The emirate buys a light oil called condensate that’s produced in Iran’s natural gas fields and refines it into jet fuel and other products for local use. The UAE port of Fujairah, the Middle East’s biggest oil-trading hub, provides storage for fuel oil that supplies vessels plying the Indian Ocean. Both export streams may be at risk for Iran when US sanctions take effect on November 4. Condensate shipments to Dubai’s government-owned refiner Emirates National Oil Co already dropped by half in September, according to Bloomberg tankertracking data.

UAE customs officials have started to require oil tankers docking at Fujairah’s fuel terminal to provide a certificate attesting to the origin of their cargoes, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.

“The UAE could be looking to tightly police the cargoes entering and leaving its port, ahead of the deadline for US sanctions on Iran,” said Den Syahril, a senior analyst at industry consultant FGE in Singapore. Iran’s exports have slumped since May as customers including South Korea and France halted imports.

India will stop buying Iranian crude in November, people with knowledge of its imports said last week.

Oil is at the highest level in almost four years amid concerns about possible supply shortages due to the sanctions on Iran and production disruptions in other Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries members such as Venezuela.