Cosmo Oil Co. reduced the amount of crude it buys from Iran in a contract renewal for the fiscal year that started in April, according to two sources.
The Japanese refiner, partly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, cut its annual purchase agreement following negotiations this month, the sources said, declining to be identified because the terms are confidential. They wouldn't specify the reduction from about 40,000 barrels a day that Cosmo bought from Iran last year. Katsuhisa Maeda, a spokesman for Cosmo Oil in Tokyo, declined comment on the contract.
The Obama administration granted exemptions to Japan and 10 European Union nations last month for 180 days from a U.S. law that places sanctions on banks that do business with Iran, including processing of oil payments. The nations showed they are cutting crude purchases from the Persian Gulf producer, the U.S. said.
Cosmo Oil added force majeure clauses to the new contract that allows it to opt out of buying Iranian crude when it can't obtain sufficient insurance, the sources said.