S. Korea to Resume Crude Imports from Iran
News number: 9103084698 16:08 | 2012-07-02
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9103084698

TEHRAN (FNA)- South Korean officials said that the country will resume oil
imports from Iran later this month after consultations between Korean oil
refiners and Tehran over using Iranian oil tankers yield result.

Yonhap News Agency quoted a government source as saying that South Korea is
considering accepting Iran's proposal to supply oil to Seoul using its own
oil tankers.

Iran has proposed that South Korean oil refiners use Tehran's own oil
tankers, a move that would allow them to receive crude shipments without
concerns over insurance guarantees, the source said on the condition of
anonymity.

"Korean oil refiners and the Iranian side have been in consultations over
the matter of using Iranian-flagged oil tankers to resume oil shipments,"
the source said.

Using Iranian-flagged ships to import Iranian oil "is not internationally
prohibited," the source said.

If consultations go well, South Korean oil refiners could resume oil imports
from late this month or early next month, the source said.

South Korea had announced on Tuesday that imports of Iranian crude oil would
be halted from July 1 due to an EU ban on insurance cover for tankers
carrying Iranian crude.

Although Japan, one of the major importers of Iranian oil along with South
Korea, passed a law to offer government guarantees on insurance for Iranian
crude shipments, Seoul has not been considering such a measure, officials
said.

South Korea secured a waiver from new US financial sanctions against Iran on
June 12.

After Seoul cautioned that it would halt imports from Iran on July 1, Tehran
warned South Korea of a possible embargo on its products in case it complies
with the sanctions.

Last week, Iranian Ambassador to South Korea Ahmad Masumifar warned that
Tehran could halt all imports of goods from South Korea in response to
Seoul's suspension of Iranian oil imports.

Tehran "may decide to fully stop importing Korean goods," the ambassador
said.

Later, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi warned Seoul, and said, "Iran is
a major importer of South Korean goods and if that country completely cuts
its oil imports from Iran, it will suffer the most."