SEOUL, April 23 (Reuters) – South Korea’s crude imports from Iran fell 40 percent in March from a year ago to 155,000 barrels per day as the country slashed imports in a bid to secure a waiver from sanctions being applied by the United States.
The move by Seoul to reduce reliance on Iranian crude is also in line with steps taken by other major Asian consumers such as Japan.
Other Middle Easters producers including the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have helped South Korea plug the cuts from Tehran, data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corp showed on Monday.