Tupras plans to meet with Saudi Arabian authorities within the month as it seeks to reduce its dependence on Iranian oil, Greece’s state-run ANA news agency said, without saying where it got the information. Our view: Tupras has not confirmed this news. In fact, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said earlier that Tupras would continue to buy crude oil from Iran. Nevertheless, there is possibility that Tupras will eventually lower (if not entirely cut) its reliance on Iranian crude and replace it with more expensive, direct “competitors” such as Urals. We calculate that Tupras could lose roughly US$ 150m if it has to abandon buying Iranian crude in 2012. In 3Q11, Tupras recorded a high and sector-leading refining margin thanks to the huge feedstock advantage caused by relatively cheap Iranian oil.