Iran looks to store oil in Southeast Asia

Singapore: Iran is seeking to store at least 2 million barrels of crude oil for at least six months in Southeast Asia but is struggling to find hosts due to international sanctions, industry sources familiar with the storage negotiations told Reuters on Thursday. The world's fifth-largest oil exporter, under Western pressure to cease its nuclear programme, has been talking to commercial storage operators in Singapore over the past month, sources said.?National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) met with Singapore authorities last month to discuss the possibility of taking space at the Jurong Rock Caverns, a 9.5 million-barrel underground oil storage facility that is due to start operations in 2013, said government agency JTC Corporation, the project's developer.?No deal was struck at the meeting, said sources familiar with the discussions.?The state oil company has also been speaking to other storage operators in Singapore and Malaysia, industry sources said.  [12/11/10]