The latest market figures show that imports of Irans oil by the countrys Asian clients increased by more than 13 percent in April from a year ago, confirming recent indications that the country is regaining the share of the oil market it lost as a result of sanctions faster than expected.
The figures that have been released by Reuters show that shipments of Irans oil into India and South Korea have clearly offset a big slump in purchases by Japan.
China imports from Iran fell more than 5 percent to just over 670,000 bpd in April, while India's surged nearly 50 percent to around 390,000 bpd. South Korea's imports rose nearly 90 percent to 237,000 bpd. Japan's shipments fell 72 percent to less than 20,000 bpd.
Reuters added in its report that the facts on Asia oil shipments confirm that Iran is regaining market share faster than expected after sanctions were lifted in January.
April imports by Iran's biggest buyers would have been higher had Japan not halted loadings in March over shipping insurance concerns that have since been resolved, it emphasized.
Japan on Tuesday announced its official oil import figures for April, following data earlier from China, India and South Korea.
Iran's biggest oil clients together imported 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to official government and tanker-tracking data.
Iran's total oil exports to Asia are set to surge nearly 60 percent in May from a year earlier to 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd).
For several years before 2012, Iran exported around 2.5 million bpd, with more than half going to Asia, mainly China, South Korea, India and Japan.
By Press TV
# Tags
