South Korea's Oil Imports from Iran Double

Iran's oil exports to South Korea in October of this year increased by 98.8% compared to the previous year. According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, South Korea's oil imports from Iran in October 2015 were about 4 million 71 thousand barrels, equivalent to 135 thousand 700 barrels per day, while this figure in October of last year was 2 million 48 thousand barrels, equivalent to 68 thousand 266 barrels per day. South Korea's oil imports from Iran in September were also 5 million 909 thousand barrels, equivalent to 196 thousand 966 barrels per day. Iran and six world powers reached a comprehensive nuclear agreement in July of this year, and it is expected that Iran's oil sanctions will be lifted in the coming months. Iran claims that as soon as the sanctions are lifted, it will increase its oil production and exports by 500 thousand barrels and will raise this figure to 1 million barrels per day within six months thereafter. Currently, Iran produces 2.8 million barrels of oil per day, and according to Iranian officials, the country intends to increase its oil production to 3.8 million barrels per day by the end of next year. Iran's crude oil exports have fallen from 2.2 million barrels per day before sanctions to just above 1 million barrels. According to Reuters, statistics from the Korea National Oil Corporation show that the country's oil imports in October increased by 12.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching 83.9 million barrels. Iran's oil exports to South Korea from January to October amounted to 37 million 707 thousand barrels, equivalent to 125 thousand 690 barrels per day. This figure in the same period last year was 36 million 844 thousand barrels, equivalent to 122 thousand 813 barrels per day. Overall, during the last year, South Korea's oil imports from Iran averaged 124 thousand 497 barrels per day. Among Korean refineries, SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are customers of Iranian oil. In October, Iran was the fifth largest oil supplier to South Korea after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar.