Iran extends China oil contracts ahead of eased sanctions

Iran has extended contracts with its top two Chinese buyers into 2016 in anticipation of an end to US and European Union sanctions over its nuclear program, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. The contracts with Sinopec and Zhuhai Zhenrong will come to about 505,000 barrels of crude per day (bpd), the same as 2015 when the two state-run firms’ share of Iran’s total exports grew to about half. China bought 536,500 bpd of Iranian crude oil in the 10 months ending in October, down 1.9% on a year ago as a third regular client – independent Dragon Aromatics – halted purchases for safety checks after a fire in April.