Today the President made the determination required under section 1245(d)(4)(B) and (C) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 regarding the supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran.
The analysis contained in the Energy Information Administration’s report of April 25, 2013, indicates that global oil consumption has exceeded production in recent months. The international response to concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities has increased demand for non-Iranian crude. However, rising production from other countries, greater spare production capacity, economic developments, and smaller inventory draws in March and April 2013 indicate a looser international crude market.
There currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their purchases of Iranian oil, taking into account current estimates of demand, increased production by countries other than Iran, inventories of crude oil and petroleum products, and available spare production capacity. In this context, it is notable that many purchasers of Iranian crude oil have reduced or ceased altogether their purchases from Iran.