China's Hengli Petrochemical denies trade with Iran in response to US sanctions

Hengli Petrochemical, one of China's largest independent refiners, denied trade dealings with Iran after the United States imposed sanctions on one of its subsidiaries for allegedly buying Iranian oil.

Hengli "has never engaged in any trade with Iran", and all its crude oil suppliers "guaranteed that the origins of the crude oil supplied do not fall within the scope of US sanctions", the company said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday.

The company has sufficient crude oil inventories to meet processing needs for more than three months, and its crude oil procurement activities have not been affected in any way, it said.

The US sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery lack factual and legal basis, Hengli said, adding that it would strive to lift restrictions.