Daily Times

Iranian crude oil imports by Asia’s top four buyers dropped to the lowest volume in three years in 2018 amid US sanctions on Tehran, but China and India stepped up imports in December after getting waivers from Washington.

Asia’s top four buyers of Iranian crude — China, India, Japan and South Korea — imported a total 1.31 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018, down 21 percent from the previous year, data from the countries showed.

That was the lowest since about 1 million bpd in 2015, when a previous asharp drop in Asian imports, Reuters data showed. The US reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports last November as it wants to negotiate a new nuclear deal with the country. US officials have said they intend to reduce the Islamic Republic’s oil exports to zero.

China, India, Japan and South Korea imported a total 1.31 million barrels per day of Iranian crude in 2018, down 21 percent from the previous year

On a monthly basis, Asia’s imports from Iran rebounded to a three-month high of 761,593 bpd in December as China and India stepped up purchases after Washington granted eight countries waivers from the Iranian sanctions for 180 days from the start of November.

“We expect Iranian exports to Asia to remain stable at around 800,000 barrels per day until May, when the waivers expire,” said Energy Aspects analyst Riccardo Fabiani. In December, China’s imports climbed above 500,000 bpd for the first time in three months, while India’s imports rose above 302,000 bpd. Japan and South Korea did not import any Iranian crude that month because they were still sorting out payment and shipping issues, but the countries have resumed oil lifting from Iran this month.

Published in Daily Times, February 2^nd 2019.