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 27, 2012 indicates that tightness in the oil market relaxed somewhat in March and April of 2012 compared to January and February. That trend continued in May. Although production disruptions continue to remove some oil from the market and the international response to concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities has increased demand for non-Iranian crude oil, production increases in other countries and weaker demand growth overall have mitigated oil market tightness to a degree.
There currently appears to be sufficient supply of non-Iranian oil to permit foreign countries to significantly reduce their imports 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 strategic petroleum reserves. In this context, it is notable that many purchasers of Iranian crude oil have already significantly reduced their purchases or announced they are in productive discussions with alternative suppliers.