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Iran turns to South Korea’s second major oil supplier

Oil&Gas Materials 8 January 2012 17:06 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 8 / Trend F. Milad/

Iran exported some 280,000 barrels of crude oil to South Korea in November 2011, turning it as the second biggest supplier of oil to the South Asian country, the Mehr news agency reported.

Iran is currently supplying two large refineries of South Korea with crude oil, the National Iranian Oil Company's director for international affairs Mohsen Qamsari said.

Ahead of Iran, Saudi Arabia was South Korea's top crude supplier in November, followed by Kuwait and Iraq.

In the first 11 months to November last year, South Korea imported 8.16 million barrels of crude from Iran, amounting to 9.6 percent of its total crude imports.

"We cannot afford to lose this important source of oil and we have to get an exemption from the implementation of the sanctions," AFP quoted a senior Seoul official as saying.

The new U.S. sanctions are directed at Iran's central bank, which processes most of its oil sales. They will effectively make foreign firms choose between doing business with the Islamic republic or the United States.

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