France to stop buying Iranian oil
11/25/2011 12:00:00 AM
France will stop buying Iranian oil on a "national basis" as part of its campaign to raise pressure on Iran over its contested nuclear program, the foreign ministry said.
Spokesman Bernard Valero gave no details of the measure, but the US Energy Information Agency estimates that France imports the equivalent of 49,000 bpd of Iranian crude, a tiny fraction of Iran's exports.
The French energy giant Total is still present in Iran, but only operates a joint venture with an Iranian lubricants firm, having halted its oil production and, in the middle of last year, stopped fuel sales there.
France has said it will work with its European Union partners towards broader sanctions against Iran.
Dow Jones Newswires
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