ISTANBUL - Turkey will reduce the amount of oil it buys from Iran by around 10 percent, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday, a week after Washington warned Iran's customers they could be subject to US sanctions unless they significantly cut purchases. ISTANBUL - Turkey will reduce the amount of oil it buys from Iran by around 10 percent, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday, a week after Washington warned Iran's customers they could be subject to US sanctions unless they significantly cut purchases. Turkey will partly replace the oil with 1 million tonnes it expects to buy from Libya, Yildiz told reporters. The country is also in talks with Saudi Arabia on spot oil purchases and longer term contacts, Yildiz added. "We plan to increase the number and the route of countries we buy oil from," Yildiz said. Turkey imports around 200,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran, representing 30 percent of its total imports and more than 7 per cent of Iran's oil exports. Having been omitted from a list of countries granted exemptions by Washington, Turkey remained hopeful of obtaining a waiver to avoid US financial sanctions. The United States exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian crude oil, but left Iran's top customers China and India exposed to the possibility of such steps.
