Iran’s oil exports to Asia steady on year in Jan

According to media reports, Iran’s oil exports to Asia remained steady in January from a year earlier since most of Iran’s biggest buyers limited their imports until the removal of sanctions in mid-January. Imports in total by China, India, Japan and South Korea were slightly down 0.1% on the year to reach 981,000 barrels per day (bpd).

South Korea imported about 209,000 bpd in January, tripling its monthly Iranian oil imports to reach a 23-month high. Japan’s imports also rose 10% to reach about 194,000 bpd in January. However, India’s January imports plunged 37.6% on the month.

Meanwhile, Iran’s total exports of crude oil reached 1.75 million bpd in the Iranian month from January 21 to February 19, up 400,000 bpd compared with the same period of 2015. Iran is aiming to increase production to pre-sanction levels in order to regain market share.