A cargo for refiner SK Energy arrived this week. The north Asian country has restarted Iranian oil imports of about 6 million barrels per month, or 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of full contracted volumes, after a way was found to get around a European Union ban on insurance cover.
The cargoes are being transported under Iranian insurance cover to avoid sanctions, refining and government sources said.
"Hyundai Oilbank lifted its first Iranian crude last week and it is expected to arrive later this month," a company source who declined to be identified told Reuters.
A spokesman at SK Energy's parent firm, SK Innovation, said its first Iranian cargo for this month arrived at the port of Ulsan on Tuesday.
He declined to comment on the fate of its second cargo, but a government source has said it has already been loaded and should arrive later this month.
All three cargoes - of two million barrels each - should be able to clear customs this month based upon arrival dates.
The crude imports from Iran come despite the US pressures on Seoul to stop buying Iranian oil. The world's fifth-largest crude importer has been under pressure to cut Iranian crude imports.
"The United States wants to see us import no Iranian crude ultimately," said a government source with direct knowledge of the matter.
A total of 6-7 trillion won ($5.4-$6.3 billion) was being held in Iran's won-denominated accounts at Industrial Bank of Korea and Woori Bank, both owned by the government, said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Tehran offered to provide up to $1 billion of insurance cover to Iranian vessels shipping oil to South Korea as Iran has kept its crude flowing to its top four customers: South Korea, China, India and Japan.
SK Energy's term deals with Iran this year are to import two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) of crude per month, or 4 million barrels, while Hyundai Oilbank imports one VLCC, according to an economy ministry source.
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Iran's first crude cargo in two months arrived in South Korea, sources said, adding that Hyundai Oilbank has loaded a cargo of crude in Iran for delivery later this month.
News ID 182951
