Turkey to seek US waiver on Iran oil

Turkey will seek a waiver from the United States to exempt its biggest refiner Tupras from new U.S. sanctions on institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, a Turkish energy ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed the new sanctions into law on New Year's Eve, which if implemented fully would prevent most refineries from paying for Iranian crude, the first Western measure that could have serious impact on Iran's oil industry. The law would strip any financial institution dealing with Iran's central bank from access to the U.S. financial system.

However, the law allows Obama to issue waivers to firms in countries that significantly reduce dealings with Iran, or at any time when it is either in the U.S. national interest or necessary for energy market stability. U.S. officials have said they will discuss with allies how to implement the law without causing havoc in oil markets.

U.S. ally Turkey gets about 30 percent of its oil from neighbour Iran, and Tupras - Turkey's biggest crude oil importer, owned by its largest conglomerate, Koc Holding - is a big buyer of Iranian crude. The energy ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a Turkish energy official would meet a representative of the U.S. embassy in Turkey to learn more about the content of the new U.S. law.