* China expected to load about 16 mln barrels of Iranian oil
in Aug
* Monthly volumes seen largely steady for rest of year
* China in freight talks with Iran tanker firm as vessel
costs vary
BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China, Iran's top oil customer
and trading partner, has nominated full contract volumes of
Iranian crude for loading this month, steady with July, trade
sources said, after imports from the Middle Eastern country hit
an ll-month high in June.
China is expected to load just over 16 million barrels of
Iranian oil in August, the second month that it is using the
vessels of National Iranian Tanker Co. (NITC) to deliver oil to
its ports to get around a European Union insurance ban.
Iran's oil exports halved in the four months from February
to June because of sanctions aimed at choking off oil revenue
and forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear programme, which the West
believes is aimed at developing weapons, a motive Iran denies.
"The volume for August has been confirmed," said a
Beijing-based oil official with direct knowledge of the matter.
"For the rest of the year, the volumes should be largely
steady each month. We are not expecting big fluctuations," said
a second official.
Both declined to be named because company policy forbids it.
China, Iran's biggest trading partner, in July loaded a
similar amount of Iranian oil, or roughly 520,000 barrels per
day (bpd), a level at which China would account for around half
of Iran's total July exports of about 1.1 million bpd.
The full contractual volume of July loadings followed
surprisingly high imports in June, which were the highest in
nearly a year as reported by Chinese customs. Some traders
believed it was a one-off skewing in the data tally, while
others suspected China might have taken in extra bargain
oil.
The EU sanctions that took effect on July 1 forced China to
ask NITC to deliver crude, as Chinese vessels can no longer buy
cover from the European insurers who dominate the sector.
Chinese firms would still need to negotiate with NITC the
freight cost for each vessel for August loadings as the cost of
each ship varies. But both sides expected the talks to be
smoother than in July, when a freight dispute briefly threatened
to delay the shipments.
"So far two vessels have already been loaded," said the
first official.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)