* S.Africa exempt from U.S. sanctions
* Expects “breakthrough” soon in EU sanctions talks
(Adds details, quotes, background)
By Wendell Roelf
CAPE TOWN, June 15 (Reuters) – South Africa is looking to
source oil from Angola, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to replace
supplies from Iran, which is facing sanctions over its nuclear
programme, a top energy official said on Friday.
Africa’s biggest economy used to import a quarter of its
crude from Iran, but has come under Western pressure to cut the
shipments as part of sanctions designed to halt Tehran’s
suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“We intend looking at other countries, specifically in
Africa, mainly Angola and Nigeria,” Nelisiwe Magubane, director
general at the energy department told journalists. “We also, of
course, are going to continue to import from Saudi Arabia.”
South Africa’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 43 percent
to 286,072 tonnes in April from the previous month, while
supplies from Saudi Arabia nearly doubled to 671,419 tonnes. The
remaining 258,184 tonnes came from Nigeria.
The United States granted South Africa an exemption from
financial sanctions after the cuts in Iranian imports, Pretoria
may still face problems because of sanctions from the European
Union, which does not provide any waivers.
Magubane said she expected a “breakthrough” soon in talks
with Brussels on the issue.
Continued…
