Treasury Ups Pressure on PRC "Teapot" Refiners, Shippers

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today sanctioned a major Chinese "teapot" refinery and several port operators, shipping firms, vessels, and individuals involved in importing Iranian oil, as part of its ongoing campaign to restrict Iran’s petroleum revenues.

Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co., Ltd. and its Singapore-based affiliate Xing AO Energy were designated for purchasing Iranian oil linked to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). OFAC also sanctioned three Chinese port operators in Shandong Province that facilitated shipments from Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

Additional sanctions were imposed on six tankers—including the STAR TWINKLE 6, LAMD, SKADI, BIG MAG, IMPALAS, and THANE—and their owners, as well as two Indian captains who operated sanctioned vessels.

“These sanctions reinforce our commitment to target all elements of Iran’s oil supply chain,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

A teapot refinery is a small, independent oil refinery in China, typically privately owned and operating outside the country’s dominant state-owned refining sector.Usually privately held or locally owned, often based in Shandong Province, they rose to prominence after China liberalized crude oil import quotas in the mid-2010s, granting some of them the right to import oil directly.

Treasury Press Release