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South Korea resumes Iranian oil supplies

Published time: August 08, 2012 12:03
Edited time: August 08, 2012 16:03
An employee holds a gas pump to refill a car at a petrol station during a photo opportunity (Reuters / Lee Jae Won)

South Korea, the fourth largest importer of Iranian crude, plans to resume purchases after a two-month pause due to a European Union embargo.

­South Korean refiners and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) are negotiating the details of a deal, which would allow supplies to restart from September, Reuters reported citing government sources. Tehran offered to deliver crude in its own tankers and provide up to $1 billion shipment insurance cover.

SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank – the only two South Korean refiners that import Iranian crude, have confirmed that they are involved in negotiations with NITC. Though it’s unclear whether Iran had offered South Korea a discount for crude.

South Korea, India, Japan and China are the biggest importers of Iranian crude, accounting for more than half of its oil exports. In May, Seoul announced it would halt crude import from the Islamic Republic, becoming the first major importer of Iranian oil to give up supplies due to the EU sanctions.

EU sanctions banning Iranian oil as well as insurance affect Asian customers as they rely on EU companies to insure their shipments. Nearly 90% of the world’s tanker fleets are covered by 13 international P&I clubs from the EU.

Meanwhile Japan approved providing $7.6 billion insurance coverage for Iranian tankers, while China offered to use its own vessels for delivery. India has given permission to its state-run refiners to import Iranian oil on condition Tehran arranges insurance.

Comments (16)

SantaClaus (unregistered) 20.08.2012 15:14

The sanctions against Iran are completely useless as Europeans cutting their own throat, it seems South Korea made the first step to show the rest of the world, how NOT to put the burden of higher fuel prices on their citizens, not having to pay the bill for the wrong decision of their governments.
Iran ians's are just laughing their head off about Western stupidity "Europeans are putting sanctions on them selfs so does America and the rest that followed".

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Scott (unregistered) 10.08.2012 07:55

@James
James (unregistered) A ugust 09, 2012, 14:50 You realise the sanctions have worked exceptionally well? Iran's currency has lost most of it's value.

Not true james, according to an Aug 06 2012 article on "business line.com" the Iranian currency has lost appx half it's value "against the dollar" during this past year. This makes sense since it is illegal for western businessmen to buy anything from Iran. However Iranian oil still retains it's value (obviously), and now western insurers are also losing business to non-western insurance companies willing to facilitate the flow of oil from Iran. The sanctions are causing the international community to set up new avenues of commerce that circumvent the western economies. The sanctions are backfiring and will have a negative effect on the west. These sanctions are the result of a small minority of raving bloodthirsty fanatics who weild great influence in the American financial community, but God willing, this could change.

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A.Smith 09.08.2012 23:57

South Korea bypasses insane Iranian Oil sanction, thumbing their nose at war maven USA Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and resuming to purchase Iranian Oil.

The global citizens don't really need to be retold 'why' as they realize how unjust, immoral and insane the Israeli/Obama White House ordered Iranian Oil sanctions were in the first place.

The hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq that died directly as a result of the Zionist ordered Israeli/Bush White House sanction of medical supplies and drugs to Iraq is one of the darkest deeds in modern history. Now the same Satanically evil Zionists are attempting to do the same in Gaza, Libya, Syria and Iran.

Every time children are targeted for mass death in modern history, the Zionists are the primary suspects whom are often found to be the serial criminals behind those actions.

Glob ally Boycott, Deinvest and Sanction Apartheid Israel for a Peaceful, Safer and More Prosperous World Tomorrow.

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