The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the demand for Iranian crude has increased despite sanctions imposed against the country’s oil exports by the EU and US.
The IEA reported on Wednesday that imports of Iranian oil increased from an estimated 930,000 barrels a day in July to 1.1 million barrels per day in August.
Among the countries demanding Iranian oil, Turkey increased its imports in August some 150,000 barrels per day to 200,000 barrels.
Malaysia also raised its imports 100,000 bpd to 130,000, while Japan and India favored cargoes of Iranian oil with their own state-backed insurance coverage, which is crucial in shipping oil because of possible environmental claims and liability from oil spills.
Meanwhile, China, South Korea, and India are among countries expected to increase their imports in September, the IEA observed, noting Iranian initiative to allow oil sales through the private sector.
At the beginning of 2012, the US and the EU approved new sanctions against Iran's oil and financial sectors. The embargoes aim to prevent other countries from purchasing the Iranian oil or transacting with the Central Bank of Iran.
Washington and the EU have declared that the bans are meant to force Iran to abandon its nuclear energy program, which they claim to include a military component.
Iran has vehemently refuted the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to use the nuclear technology for peaceful objectives.
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