GreenergyDaily

Oct. 10, 2025

The latest US sanctions on Iranian oil targeted a unit of a state-owned Chinese major that is a major cog in global crude flows.

The Treasury Department on Thursday blacklisted Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co., among measures targeting more than 50 individuals, firms and vessels involved in exporting Iranian energy in a crackdown on the Beijing-Tehran energy trade. The facility is linked to Sinopec and handles about 9% of China's crude imports.

By targeting the oil terminal, the Trump administration is signaling its intent to disrupt one of the largest remaining outlets for Iran's sanctioned crude, much of which ultimately ends up in Chinese refineries despite US restrictions. The blacklisted entities helped facilitate billions of dollars in commodities sales, using shadow-fleet tankers, offshore terminals and middlemen from Asia to the Middle East, the agency's Office of Foreign Assets Control said.

"The Treasury Department is degrading Iran's cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran's energy export machine," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

The move could impact non-sanctioned crude flows into China. The blacklisted operator, through its terminals, shipped in more than 1 million barrels a day from around the world last year, with Iran accounting for about 189,000 barrels of that, data from Kpler show.