In Freight News 03/04/2017
Imports of Iranian crude by its four main buyers in Asia rose about 58 percent in February from a year ago when Western sanctions on Tehran had only just been lifted.
Iran’s top four Asian buyers – China, India, South Korea and Japan – imported 2.01 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, government and ship-tracking data showed, the highest volumes since at least 2010, International Energy Agency data showed.
Iran was exempted from an OPEC deal to reduce output by 1.2 million bpd starting Jan. 1, a victory for Tehran which has argued it needs to regain the market share it lost under Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme.
Japan’s trade ministry on Friday released official data showing its Iranian imports came to 230,297 bpd last month.
Japan likely skipped Iran crude loading this month as buyers waited for the government to extend sovereign ship insurance in the new fiscal year that starts in April.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Edmund Blair)
