South Korea's crude oil imports from Iran rose 26.5 percent in July from a year ago, driven by Seoul's strong appetite for competitively priced Iranian light oil as Tehran looks to boost market share.
Korea, one of Iran's major Asian customers, shipped in 1.40 million tonnes of crude from Tehran in July, or 330,151 barrels per day (bpd), up from 1.10 million tonnes last year, customs data showed on Tuesday.
The worlds' fifth-biggest crude importer brought in 10.67 million tonnes of Iranian crude in the first seven months of this year, or 368,952 bpd, up 47.7 percent from 7.22 million tonnes over the same period last year, the data showed.
South Korea mainly imports Iranian condensate, an ultra-light oil used to produce more expensive fuels like naphtha. No breakdown of imports was available.
In July, the Middle Eastern country exported 2.2 million bpd of oil to Asian and European markets, with its exports to Asia up by 100,000 bpd.
South Korea's intake of crude oil from top exporter Saudi Arabia fell 9.3 percent to 3.69 million tonnes, or 873,656 bpd, a year ago.