S. Korea Resumes Importing Iranian Condensate

Two one-million-barrel cargoes of Iranian oil will arrive in South Korea’s port of Incheon in the space of a week in January to end the 4-month long hiatus in the flow of fuel from the energy giant to the world’s fifth-largest oil buyer.

A South Korean oil buyer is set to receive about 2 million barrels of Iranian condensate in January, a source familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported.

The cargo marks the first Iranian oil import by South Korea in four months after the world’s fifth-largest oil buyer halted imports before the US re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November.

The first cargo of around 960,000 barrels of condensate, a type of light crude oil typically produced in association with natural gas, is expected to arrive this week at the port of Incheon, said the source, who declined to be named due to sensitivity of the matter.

The Silvia 1, a vessel carrying 955,000 barrels of Iranian oil, is set to arrive in South Korea on Jan. 15, trade flow data from Refinitv Eikon showed.

A second cargo of 990,000 barrels will arrive later this month, the source said.

In November, South Korea won a temporary waiver from the United States to purchase a limited amount of Iranian oil.

South Korea can buy up to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil under the sanctions waiver, mainly condensate, according to industry sources.

South Korean oil buyers were expected to restart oil purchases from Iran in late January or early February, the head of SK Innovation, owner of South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy, told Reuters last week.

South Korean buyers of Iranian crude and condensate include SK Energy and SK Incheon Petrochemical, owned by SK Innovation, Hyundai Oilbank Corp and Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co.

Kim Jun, chief executive officer and president of South Korea's SK Innovation, owner of South Korea's biggest oil refiner SK energy, announced on Friday that his country’s oil buyers will resume oil imports from Iran in the coming weeks.

Kim said that his country will restart importing Iran's crude in late January or early February.

In November, South Korea won a six-month waiver from sanctions, imposed by the United States, allowing to purchase a limited amount of Iranian oil.

South Korea was the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil and the largest importer of Iranian condensates before the US sanctions were re-imposed in November.

source: FARS News Agency