SEOUL: South Korea’s crude oil shipments from Iran fell around 30 percent in November from a year ago, with imports in the first eleven months of 2015 dropping 2.7 percent and meeting sanction requirements over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The world’s fifth-largest crude importer brought 395,132 tonnes of Iranian crude in November, or 96,544 barrels per day(bpd), compared with 567,611 tonnes a year ago, preliminary data from its customs office showed on Tuesday.
The United States and the European Union in October took formal legal steps that will lift sanctions once Iran meets the conditions tied to a landmark nuclear agreement with major world powers. Under the agreement, Iran must carry out steps to scale back its nuclear programme, many of which it has completed.
Russia’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said earlier this month that he expected the deal would be implemented in January, leading to sanctions relief for Tehran.
The South Korean customs data showed Seoul bought 5.50 million tonnes, or 120,675 bpd, of crude from Tehran in January-November, down 2.7 percent from 5.65 million tonnes, or 124,012 bpd, in the same period in 2014 and below last year’s import average as the sanctions require.
South Korea’s crude imports from Iran in 2014 were 6.2 million tonnes, or 124,497 bpd.
South Korea’s crude oil import data usually includes condensate, without giving a breakdown.
Of the total four South Korean refiners, SK Energy Co Ltd and Hyundai Oilbank Co Ltd import oil from Iran. Their imports typically swing from month to month.
Overall, Seoul imported 10.95 million tonnes of crude last month, or 2.67 million bpd, down 1.4 percent from 11.10 million tonnes a year ago.
Final data for November imports with more detail will be available from state-run Korea National Oil Corp later this month.
