美國制裁中國「茶壺」煉油廠，原因是它購買伊朗石油

Recently Aljazeera.com reported the following:

US sanctions China’s ‘teapot’ refinery for buying Iranian oil

The Hengli refinery, China’s second-largest, has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s military, the US Treasury says.

By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters

Published On 25 Apr 2026

25 Apr 2026

The United States has sanctioned a Chinese oil refinery for buying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil.

Ahead of potential new talks on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US Treasury Department on Friday said that it was targeting Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s second-largest “teapot” or independent refinery.

Hengli is “one of Tehran’s most valued customers” and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military through crude oil purchases, the Treasury added.

It also imposed new sanctions on about 40 shipping firms and vessels alleged to be operating as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC pushed back against the move.

“We call ‌on the US to stop politicising trade and sci-tech issues and using them as a weapon and a tool and stop abusing various kinds of sanction to hit Chinese companies,” a spokesperson said.

China gets more than half of its oil from the Middle East, and last year purchased more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to analytics firm Kpler.

The US Navy has blockaded Iranian ports since April 13, in what President Donald Trump claims is a bid to further choke Iran’s proceeds from oil and gas exports.

Teapots under pressure

China’s “teapot” refineries are small, privately owned refineries, mostly based in Shandong province and nicknamed for their teapot-like shape.

They play a key role in beefing up China’s oil supplies by importing and stockpiling discounted Iranian and Russian oil – while allowing state-owned enterprises to remain more insulated from politically risky oil trading.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged Friday to continue targeting the “network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers Iran relies on to move its oil to global markets”.

“Any person or vessel facilitating these flows – through covert trade and finance – risks exposure to US sanctions,” he said.

Aside from the prospect of sanctions, the US-Israel war on Iran has increased financial pressures for teapot refineries, which are facing “high replacement prices in a market already strained by global tensions”, Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel reported last month.

Even before the war began, the Trump administration was targeting China’s independent refineries.

Last year, the Treasury sanctioned Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong Shengxing Chemical.

Translation

美國制裁中國「茶壺」煉油廠，原因是它購買伊朗石油

美國財政部稱，中國第二大煉油廠恆力煉油廠已為伊朗軍方創造了數億美元的收入

美國已對一家中國煉油廠實施制裁，因為其購買了價值數億美元的伊朗石油。

在美國-以色列以可能就結束對伊朗的戰爭舉行新一輪談判之前，美國財政部週五表示，將制裁目標鎖定在中國第二大「茶壺」或獨立煉油廠 - 恆力石化（大連）煉油廠。

財政部補充說，恆力是“德黑蘭最重要的客戶之一”，並透過購買原油為伊朗軍方創造了數億美元的收入。

美國也對約40家航運公司和船隻實施了新的製裁，這些公司和船隻被指控隸屬於伊朗的「影子艦隊」。

中國駐華盛頓大使館反對這項舉措。

中國一位發言人表示：“我們呼籲美國停止將貿易和科技問題政治化，停止將其作為武器和工具，停止濫用各種制裁手段打擊中國企業。”

根據分析公司Kpler的數據顯示，中國超過一半的石油來自中東，去年購買了伊朗石油出口量的80%以上。

自4月13日起，美國海軍封鎖了伊朗港口。美國總統特朗普聲稱，此舉旨在進一步切斷伊朗的石油和天然氣出口收入。

「茶壺煉油廠」面臨壓力

中國的「茶壺煉油廠」是指規模較小、私營的煉油廠，大多位於山東省，因其外形酷似茶壺而得名。

它們在增強中國石油供應方面發揮關鍵作用，透過進口和囤積價格低廉的伊朗和俄羅斯石油，使國有企業能夠更好地免受到有政治風險的石油交易的影響。

美國財政部長貝森特週五承諾，將繼續打擊「伊朗賴以將其石油運往全球市場的船隻、中間商人和買家的網絡」。

他表示：“任何透過秘密貿易和融資促成這些石油流動的人或船隻，都將面臨美國制裁的風險。”

除了制裁的可能性之外，美以對伊朗的戰爭也加劇了小型煉油廠的財務壓力。總部位於布魯塞爾的經濟智庫Bruegel研究所上個月報告稱，這些煉油廠正面對「高昂的替代價格，而全球局勢已經令市場緊繃」。

甚至在戰爭爆發之前，特朗普政府就已經開始將目標對準中國的獨立煉油廠。

去年，財政部對河北新海化工集團、山東壽光魯清石化和山東盛興化工進行了制裁。

              So, ahead of potential new talks in ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US says that it is targeting Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, China’s second-largest “teapot” refinery, accusing that it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military through crude oil purchases. Apparently, this may be one of the topics of discussion when President Trump visits China this month.