KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied reports quoting him as saying the country has halted gasoline sales to Iran, saying there had been no requests since a March sale, the national news agency reported.
A news report on Friday quoted Najib as saying Malaysia had officially stopped selling fuel to Iran because of looming U.S. sanctions on the Islamic republic over its nuclear development programme.
On Thursday, Malaysian state oil firm Petronas told Reuters the company had stopped supplying gasoline to Iran. .
Najib told Malaysian reporters in New York on Friday Petronas was involved in a spot sale to Iran in mid-March under a third-party deal but there had been no requests since then, Bernama news agency reported.
'It is not correct. It was not a decison taken by Petronas per se,' Najib was quoted as saying. 'It involved a spot sale and there was no requirement anymore, so they don't do it (anymore).'
'I was a bit surprised. A lot of noise has been made out of this thing.'
Najib said it was a commercial transaction and it would be up to the parties involved if there were new requests for spot sales.
Petronas has been shipping about 16,000 barrels per day (bpd) of motor fuel to OPEC members since the fourth quarter of 2009, traders said.
On Monday, Najib and U.S President Barack Obama agreed on the importance of Iran strictly abiding by its obligation under international nuclear non-proliferation pacts.
(Reporting by Liau Y-Sing; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
((y-sing.liau@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: y-sing.liau.reuters.com@reuters.net; +603 2333 8083)) Keywords: MALAYSIA IRAN/GAS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
A news report on Friday quoted Najib as saying Malaysia had officially stopped selling fuel to Iran because of looming U.S. sanctions on the Islamic republic over its nuclear development programme.
On Thursday, Malaysian state oil firm Petronas told Reuters the company had stopped supplying gasoline to Iran. .
Najib told Malaysian reporters in New York on Friday Petronas was involved in a spot sale to Iran in mid-March under a third-party deal but there had been no requests since then, Bernama news agency reported.
'It is not correct. It was not a decison taken by Petronas per se,' Najib was quoted as saying. 'It involved a spot sale and there was no requirement anymore, so they don't do it (anymore).'
'I was a bit surprised. A lot of noise has been made out of this thing.'
Najib said it was a commercial transaction and it would be up to the parties involved if there were new requests for spot sales.
Petronas has been shipping about 16,000 barrels per day (bpd) of motor fuel to OPEC members since the fourth quarter of 2009, traders said.
On Monday, Najib and U.S President Barack Obama agreed on the importance of Iran strictly abiding by its obligation under international nuclear non-proliferation pacts.
(Reporting by Liau Y-Sing; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
((y-sing.liau@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: y-sing.liau.reuters.com@reuters.net; +603 2333 8083)) Keywords: MALAYSIA IRAN/GAS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.