Sanctions Escalation Hits Chinese Refiners Tied to Iranian Crude Trade

Chinese Hengli Petrochemical saw its shares drop sharply by 10% today following the United States’ imposition of sanctions on the company, alleging it bought crude oil from Iran despite U.S. sanctions on the industry. Hengli Petrochemical is one of China’s largest independent refiners. The company denied the allegations, saying it “has never engaged in any trade with Iran,” and that its suppliers “guaranteed that the origins of the crude oil supplied do not fall within the scope of U.S. sanctions,” as quoted…