Rise in Asia's July Iran Crude Imports

EghtesadOnline: Imports of Iranian crude by major buyers in Asia rose in July from a 14-month low in the previous month, as purchases from South Korea surged by nearly 30% and those from China held steady, offsetting declines from Japan and India.

News ID: ۷۴۳۶۲۳

02 September 2017

China, India, South Korea and Japan together imported 1.52 million barrels per day in July, government and ship-tracking data showed. While imports rose from the previous month, they were down 7.1% from a year earlier, Reuters reported.

Iran is aiming to raise oil output to around 4 million bpd by the end of the year from around 3.8 million bpd in recent months.

For the first seven months of 2017, purchases by Asia's main buyers were still up 16.6% from the same period in 2016 at just under 1.7 million bpd, according to Financial Tribune.

Iran was exempted from an agreement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce output by 1.2 million bpd, a victory for Tehran that has argued it needs to regain the market share it lost under western sanctions over its nuclear program.

The latest data showed South Korea's imports of Iranian crude rose 26.7% in July to 368,935 bpd. Chinese purchases were up slightly to 568,719 bpd.

Japan's trade ministry on Monday released official data showing its Iranian imports fell for a third straight month in July.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said this week the county's crude production has stabilized at 3.8 million barrels per day with exports at 2.6 million barrels.