U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Companies Buying and Transporting Iranian Oil

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. government has announced new sanctions on companies and individuals involved in purchasing and transporting Iranian oil. The sanctions aim to stop Iran from using oil revenue to fund terrorism and other destabilizing activities.

The U.S. Department of State has sanctioned Huaying Huizhou Daya Bay Petrochemical Terminal Storage, a Chinese oil terminal, for storing Iranian crude oil from a sanctioned vessel.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a Chinese private refinery, for purchasing and refining Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Some of this oil came from vessels linked to the Iranian Ministry of Defense and the Houthis, a group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This is the first time the U.S. has sanctioned a private Chinese refinery, also known as a “teapot” refinery.

Additionally, the Treasury Department has sanctioned 12 companies and one individual involved in transporting Iranian oil to China. Eight oil tankers linked to Iran’s “shadow fleet” have also been blocked. These tankers secretly deliver Iranian oil to refineries like Luqing Petrochemical.

The new sanctions are part of the U.S. maximum pressure campaign to reduce Iran’s oil exports, especially to China, to zero. Iran relies heavily on oil sales to finance militant groups and attacks on U.S. allies.

The U.S. has warned that it will continue to enforce these sanctions strictly. Any company or country that helps Iran evade sanctions will also face consequences. The latest actions were taken under Executive Orders 13846 and 13902, which target Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors. This is the fourth round of sanctions against Iranian oil sales in 2025.

For more details, the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury have released official fact sheets and statements.