South Korea Imports 41% Less Fuel From Iran

EghtesadOnline: South Korea's crude oil imports from Iran dropped 41% year-on-year in June ahead of the reimposition of US sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, while intakes from Kazakhstan and Mexico jumped.

News ID: ۷۸۳۴۷۳

29 July 2018

The Northeast Asian country imported 5.49 million barrels of crude from Iran last month, compared with 9.31 million barrels a year earlier, data released on Tuesday by the Korea National Oil Corp. showed, Platts reported. Crude inflow from Iran has been declining since November last year when imports fell 26.8% year-on-year to 10.37 million barrels. The June imports were also down 8.6% from May. In 2017, South Korea's imports of Iranian crude were up 32.1% on the year at 147.87 million barrels. The sharp decline in crude imports was also attributable to fewer condensate cargoes following the startup of new condensate splitters in Iran. In order to fill the loss of Iranian barrels, South Korean importers have increased imports from Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC suppliers, Financial Tribune reported.