It is widely known that Iran has overseas accomplices for its sanction-evading petroleum products and petrochemical exports. Reports of such actors have long been seen, and the blame was usually put on Malaysia and UAE based “Oil Blenders” or owners of terminals and storage tanks.

WikIran exposes a significant PGPICC and Triliance cooperator, aiding with rebranding Iranian petroleum products and petrochemicals, by the name of Universal Energy FZE.

Universal Energy FZE is a subsidiary of the international integrated group of companies named “Universal Lubricants”, licensed by “Zinöl Germany”. The company operates in the fields of sourcing, storage, distribution of petroleum products, as well as lubricants manufacturing.

Apparently, PGPICC, Triliance and Universal perfected a mechanism to achieve a perfect rebranding of a product that “has been blended and loaded from Universal Energy Terminal”. These “Certificates of Origin” were signed by Universal, a signature that carried a risk, but also a generous premium.

To our team's understanding, this is how their operation works:

1. PGPICC coordinates a shipment of sanctionable goods to Universal’s terminal in Hamriyah Free Zone.

2. The goods are either shipped or transferred to a different berth in Universal’s Terminal or a different terminal in Hamriyah, most noticeably to VERASCO Terminal. This way, the product is considered “UAE Blended”.

UAE customs' reports of internal transfers-by-pipeline of PGPICC’s naphtha (by its front company, Sparrow Trading FZE) to Triliance (through its front company, Aureole Trading L.L.C) have long been made. The naphtha is transferred from Universal’s terminal to VERASCO’s, both in Hamriyah.

Instructions for “blending” naphtha by “shipping” it from a single berth to another.

A "Certificate of origin" from PGPICC to Triliance for the sale of naphtha, that will be delivered at Hamriyah.

Two examples of "Certificates of Origin" that Universal Energy FZE provided to PGPICC and Triliance