South Korea’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 47% in January from a year ago to 224,632 barrels per day (bpd), the lowest since October 2016, customs data showed on Thursday.
The fall in South Korea’s Iranian oil intake partly reflects the sinking last month of an Iranian tanker carrying 136,000 tons of condensate after a collision with a Chinese cargo ship.
South Korea’s oil imports from Iran have declined since November 2017, as Iran’s condensate exports had been dented by a technical problem at the South Pars Gas Field.
Overall, South Korea’s January crude oil imports totaled 3.13 million bpd, up 7.1% from the same month last year, according to the data.