Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s oil ministry rejected reports about fall of the country’s condensate export to South Korea, SHANA news agency reported Jan. 15.
The ministry rejected a report by Reuters which claimed that South Korean condensate purchase from Iran has decreased significantly.
Loading of condensate in January is set to reach about 385,000 barrels per day, down from an estimated 462,000 bpd in December, Reuters reported Jan. 14.
The expected fall in Iranian ultra-light oil shipments is mainly due to a significant drop in purchases from South Korea, which is scheduled to import a six-month low of 111,000 bpd, nearly half the 201,000 bpd taken in December, Reuters quoted a source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
South Korea has increased the purchase of Qatari condensate after the Arab country offered more of the fuel for exports, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Iranian oil ministry said that the report published by Reuters, likely is based on monitoring the tankers passed through Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile Iran has already several super tankers carrying condensate on the high seas near China, which partly supplied Iran’s condensate exports.
Recently, Reuters reported that Tehran has been aggressively marketing oil from its offshore storages.
“It has sold more than 13 million barrels of oil that it had long held on tankers at sea,” Reuters reported last week.
According to Reuters, Iranian crude and condensate exports last month hit a five-month low of around 2.34 million bpd, down 4 percent from the previous month.
“Iranian oil exports to Asia last month fell about 18 percent from November to a nine-month low of 1.43 million bpd, as all major importers except for India cut their purchases.”
The report added that loading for Europe rose by 14 percent from November to nearly 800,000 bpd, topping levels seen prior to the imposition of toughened Western sanctions in 2012.
The Islamic Republic’s average daily condensate export stood at 611,522 barrels in 2016.