The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned a major Chinese independent oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping firms and vessels tied to what it called Iran’s “shadow fleet,” in the latest action under a campaign Treasury has dubbed “Economic Fury.”

In a press release announcing the move, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it had designated Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., Ltd., a China-based independent “teapot” refinery, describing the company as one of Iran’s largest customers for crude oil and other petroleum products. Hengli has purchased billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum, the agency claimed. 

According to the Treasury announcement, Hengli has received Iranian crude oil shipments since at least 2023 overseen by Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, the oil sales arm of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military.

OFAC also designated 19 shadow fleet vessels allegedly responsible for transporting billions of dollars of Iranian crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and other petroleum and petrochemical products to foreign markets, with the broader action covering approximately 40 shipping firms and vessels.

“Economic Fury is imposing a financial stranglehold on the Iranian regime, hampering its aggression in the Middle East, and helping to curtail its nuclear ambitions,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in statement.