Singapore says did not import Iran crude last month
Singapore said on Tuesday it did not import any Iranian crude oil last month and that it was in talks with the United States about getting an exemption from new sanctions that Washington is threatening to impose on countries that trade Iranian oil, Reuters reported.
As per reports and information from our sources,South Korea imported 20 percent more crude from Iran in 2011 than in the previous year, an increase that outpaced the overall growth of six percent in shipments to the world's fifth-largest importer in 2011.Under new US sanctions imposed on Iran, Seoul will need to reduce imports in coming months to convince Washington it is playing a role in efforts by the US and its allies to halt Tehran's nuclear programme.Crude imports from Iran stood at 238,860 bpd in 2011 versus 198,918 bpd in 2010, the state-run Korea National Oil Corp said on Wednesday.South Korea imported 2.54 million barrels per day of crude oil last year, compared with 2.39 million bpd a year ago, the KNOC data showed.Asia's fourth-largest economy argues it would have difficulty in replacing Iranian crude supplies, which account for nearly 10 percent of its crude oil imports.Heavily dependent on imported crude, Seoul has not committed publicly to cutting imports from Iran, in contrast to Japan, another big buyer of Iranian crude.Of the four South Korean crude oil refiners, SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import Iranian crude oil.