The US on Friday identified eight petrochemical companies it says are owned or controlled by the government of Iran and are therefore subject to sanctions.
The US State Department also sanctioned two companies "for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase or acquisition of petrochemical products from Iran."
The US Treasury Department also sanctioned a company it says helped conceal oil transactions with the Iranian government in an attempt to evade sanctions.
"As Iran's oil revenues continue to fall due to international sanctions, the Iranian government has increasingly turned to other industries to make up for lost profits," the Treasury Department said in a statement. "One of these sectors is the petrochemical industry, which is now the second largest source of revenue for the Iranian Government."
The eight companies named as being owned or controlled by Iran include: Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Company, Mobin Petrochemical Company, Nouri Petrochemical Company, Pars Petrochemical Company, Shahid Tondgooyan Petrochemical Company, Shazand Petrochemical Company, and Tabriz Petrochemical Company.
The two companies identified by the State Department as conducting petrochemical products transactions are Jam Petrochemical Company and Niksima Food and Beverage JLT.
Jam Petrochemical Company is an Iranian manufacturer and seller of petrochemicals, the State Department said. Niksima Food and Beverage JLT received payments on behalf of Jam Petrochemical Company.
"The sanctions selected for both companies prohibit financial transactions subject to US jurisdiction, transactions with respect to property and interests in property under US jurisdiction, and foreign exchange transactions subject to US jurisdiction," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The Treasury Department said that Ferland Company Limited, which is based in both Cyprus and Ukraine, facilitated deceptive transactions for or on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).
The US charged that in March 2013, Ferland and NITC cooperated in a scheme to sell Iranian crude oil deceptively. The two entities conspired with Dimitris Cambis, a Greek businessman who has been previously identified as using his tankers to help Iran hide oil shipments.
The US said the scheme involved ship-to-ship transfers of oil between three oil tankers: Blackstone, a NITC vessel, Zap, a vessel controlled by Cambis, and Aldawha, which was chartered by Ferland.
The Blackstone conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil with the Zap on March 12, the US Treasury Department said. The Zap conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil with the Aldawha between, between March 15 and 17, off Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
"The details of the ship-to-ship operations were arranged by a NITC manager and a representative of Ferland," the Treasury Department said in a statement. "Ferland later furnished a falsified certificate of origin as part of its cargo documentation, claiming that the crude oil loaded onto the Aldawha was a 'product of Iraq.'"
The State Department also announced sanctions against Ferland, which include prohibiting visas for corporate officers, loans from US financial institutions, financial transactions subject to US jurisdiction, transactions with respect to property and interests in property under US jurisdiction, and foreign exchange transactions subject to US jurisdiction.
