S. Korean oil imports from Iran double in Q2

South Korea's crude oil imports from Iran more than doubled in the second quarter due to the lifted sanctions on the Persian country, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Imports of Iranian crude oil reached 25.35 million barrels during the April-June period, up 123.3 percent from 11.35 billion barrels tallied in the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It came after Iran and world powers reached a framework nuclear agreement to remove all economic sanctions. Before the sanctions, the Persian nation was South Korea's largest source of oil imports.

The country's combined oil imports increased 4.5 percent from a year earlier to 266.38 million barrels in the second quarter thanks to an increase in Iranian oil imports.

Imports of oil products from overseas amounted to 77.01 million barrels during the quarter, up 15 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, oil product exports expanded 9.5 percent to 124 million barrels during the cited period. In terms of value, oil product shipments dropped 23.6 percent to 6.22 billion U.S. dollars on the back of lower oil prices.

Oil product consumption here rose 7.3 percent over the year to 217.13 million barrels in the second quarter. Consumption of gasoline and diesel increased 6.7 percent, with LPG consumption jumping 29.5 percent. Endit