13% Increase in Asian Oil Imports from Iran Last Month

Reuters reported on Friday that Asian countries increased their oil imports from Iran by 13% in June 2015. According to ship tracking statistics, Iran exported 1.17 million barrels of crude oil daily to its four major Asian customers: China, India, Japan, and South Korea, which shows a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. The report notes that following the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Iran is eager to revive its oil markets that it lost in recent years due to sanctions. Before Western sanctions, Iran was exporting 2.5 million barrels of oil daily in 2011. If inspectors confirm the resolution of concerns that Iran and the UN agency have agreed upon for cooperation, and if the U.S. Congress approves, Iran's sanctions are expected to be lifted or suspended by the end of this year. Reuters states that in addition to increasing oil exports and recovering lost markets, Iran aims to attract $185 billion for its oil and gas projects over the next five years. The report also references an interview with Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Iran's Minister of Trade, Industry, and Mines, who stated that Iran needs about $100 billion to restore its oil industry to the level it was five years ago. In response to Western estimates that Iran needs $300 billion, he said that figure is too high and 'I think we can manage with a third of that amount.' Richard Nephew, a sanctions expert at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, told Reuters that he believes it will likely take until mid-next year to finalize long-term oil production contracts between Iran and foreign companies. He believes that Iran's daily oil exports will increase by 300,000 to 500,000 barrels after sanctions are lifted early next year. The report also mentions that two Iranian supertankers, which had been anchored in the Persian Gulf for months storing oil, have recently headed to Asian countries. Overall, in the first half of this year, Asian countries imported 1.1 million barrels of oil from Iran daily, which is about 9% less than the same period last year. Data from Japan's Ministry of Commerce indicates that Japan's oil imports from Iran decreased by up to 50% last month. In June, Japan purchased just over 93,000 barrels of oil from Iran daily, while last June, this figure was over 188,000 barrels. Overall, in the first six months of this year, China's imports of Iranian oil decreased by just over 6%, India's by about 23%, and South Korea's by more than 4%. However, Japan's imports of Iranian oil increased by 4%.