TOKYO: Japan’s crude oil imports from Iran fell nearly a third in February from the same month a year earlier, trade ministry data showed yesterday, as tougher western sanctions targeting payments and insurance appeared to bite.
Imports by Japan, Iran’s No.3 crude buyer, are expected to continue declining this year after dropping 39.5 percent last year as the United States and the European Union ratchet up sanctions targeting Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.
Under pressure from sanctions, Iran’s overall oil exports more than halved last year, costing it over $5bn a month. Tehran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, while the West accuses it of aiming to develop nuclear weapons.
Japan’s February crude imports from Iran were 953,848 kilolitres (214,268 barrels per day), down 32.3 percent from a year ago and 19.1 percent lower than in January, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed. For the first two months of 2013, Japan imported 2,132,205 kl (227,308 b/d) of Iranian crude, down 30.8 percent from the same period a year ago.
The figures contrast with customs-cleared data on Thursday which showed Japan’s Iranian crude imports rose 15.9 percent in February to the highest in eleven months, but the industry considers the trade ministry data a benchmark because it tracks the actual import status of oil tankers.
The International Energy Agency said in its March report that new US sanctions on Iran implemented in February, which barred the country from repatriating oil export earnings, appeared to have not had an impact on February shipments.
Iranian crude oil exports were expected to hold strong and even exceed 1.4m b/d in March from 1.28m b/d in February, said the IEA, which coordinates the energy policies of major consuming nations.
The report was at odds with industry expectations that the new US measures would push Iran’s exports in March to their lowest since Western sanctions came into effect in 2012. Reuters
