* U.S. to announce list of countries receiving waivers
* Top buyer China not expected to get waiver
* Latest sanctions take effect on June 28
* Around two thirds of Iran's crude exports flow to Asia
(Adds Singapore may not get waiver)
SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - The United States
will announce a new list of countries that will receive
exceptions to financial sanctions on oil trade with Iran as soon
as early next week, a government official said on Th ursday.
Not all of Iran's oil buyers are likely to get the waivers,
said the source, who declined to elaborate. Around two thirds of
Iran's crude exports flow to Asia, where the biggest buyers are
China, Japan, India and South Korea.
The United States granted Japan an exception in March and
has signaled it has had good talks with South Korea about
reducing oil purchases. Refiners in South Korea will switch to
other sources on July 1, industry sources have said.
But the U.S. may withhold waivers for China and Singapore,
according to an advocate of tougher sanctions on Iran, stepping
up pressure on Iran's biggest crude oil buyer and a major
destination for its fuel oil exports.
Mark Dubowitz, the advocate and head of the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies, said he expected all of Iran's other oil
buyers would eventually get the exceptions.
He believes China has received some clandestine cargoes from
Iran. Tehran has withheld the destination of some oil shipments
by disabling tracking systems on its tanker fleet, according to
shipping and trading sources.
The United States would be better off delaying a decision on
China, he said, than to grant an exception now and be forced not
to renew it later when more evidence of the shipments could come
to light.
Singapore is not a big consumer of oil, but it is a major
blender of fuel, including some from Iran.
The latest round of U.S. sanctions come into effect on June
28 and aim to cut Iran's oil revenue to pressure Tehran into
halting its nuclear program. Western powers suspect Iran is
aiming to develop nuclear arms, but Tehran says the program is
for civilian purposes only.
Under the law President Barack Obama signed late last year,
the administration can exempt countries from sanctions if they
make significant reductions to crude imports from Iran.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton granted waivers in March to
10 European Union countries, in addition to Japan.
Another U.S. official, who also asked not to be identified,
said earlier on Thursday more exceptions would be announced
"soon."
Even if countries are omitted from the list, it does not
necessarily follow that the United States would quickly impose
sanctions after June 28, the official said.
It would take some time for the U.S. to gather evidence to
support punitive measures against financial institutions that
have processed oil transactions, said the official.
China, Japan, India and South Korea have already cut their
imports by about a fifth from the 1.45 million barrels per day
they were buying a year ago as they prepare for the U.S.
sanctions to come into effect.
Iran's Asian importers are also struggling to find ways
around European Union sanctions that prevent EU insurers from
covering shipments of Iranian crude.
Europe dominates the world's tanker insurance market and
without its insurers, Iran's crude buyers in Asia may be forced
into more drastic import cuts.
Washington has encouraged oil producers, including ally and
top exporter Saudi Arabia, to pump more supplies to ensure there
is enough crude in the market to cushion the impact of the
sanctions.
Plentiful supply and faltering global growth have pushed
international Brent crude prices down to around $100 a
barrel, from a March peak of $128, making it less costly for
buyers to find alternatives.
(Editing by Ed Lane, Anthony Barker, Sofina Mirza-Reid and Jim
Marshall)