China, the world's largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, has renewed its annual import agreements for 2011, keeping the volumes steady at some 460,000 barrels per day (bpd), two sources told Reuters. China's commitment to keep volumes firm came as India, Iran's second-biggest oil buyer, was locked in a payment dispute with the Islamic Republic over its crude imports of around 400,000 bpd and as Japan scaled back further Iranian oil buys.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the deals said Chinese state trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, which buys more Iranian crude than any other company, had agreed with National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) to buy 240,000 barrels per day in 2011. Sinopec Corp , Asia's top refiner and the country's ultimate dominant processor of Iranian oil, separately agreed to take 220,000 bpd of oil from NIOC for this year, a volume steady with last year.
"No change in volume, no change in the grades of oil supplies. All is the same as last year," said the source, referring to the Zhenrong-NIOC agreement. However, as China, the world's biggest oil user after the United States, looks poised to raise its total crude imports at double-digit pace this year, a flat Iranian volume means Iran's share in China's oil purchases will become smaller.
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