India's daily oil imports from Iran in August surged to their highest in at least 15 years while South Korea's intake nearly doubled from a year ago last month, as Tehran continues to regain market share after the easing of international sanctions.
India received about 576,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in August, up about 10% from July, according to trade sources and ship arrival data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain & Commodities Research.
The August imports from Iran are likely a record although reliable data is available only back to 2001.
Iran used to be India's second-biggest oil supplier, a position now held by Iraq, before international sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear program began undercutting its petroleum trade.
India's oil imports from Iran last month were nearly triple the 199,000 bpd taken in August a year ago, according to the tanker arrival data. In April-August, the first five months of India's current fiscal year, Iran's share in its overall imports surged to 10.7%, its highest since 2010/11.
South Korea, the world's No. 5 crude importer, also shipped in 1.1 million tons of crude oil from Iran, or 260,770 bpd, versus 552,710 tons imported a year earlier when sanctions were still in place, South Korean customs data showed on Thursday.
In line with its effort to reclaim former sales, Iran has churned out oil at a breakneck pace this year, reaching 3.64 million bpd in June versus a 2015 average of 2.84 million bpd.
Seoul brought in 8.33 million tons of Iranian crude in the first eight months of 2016, or 250,160 bpd, versus 3.78 million tons a year ago, up 120%.
South Korea's crude oil imports data usually includes condensate, but it does not provide a breakdown.
