Ukraine joins Iran’s oil customers
08 Aug 2017- Ukraine joined Iran's oil customers, making its first purchase in June, said media reports quoting the country's State Fiscal Service.
According to the report, Ukraine bought crude oil worth $236,000 from Iran in June but the purchase rose to $5.4 million in July which saw the East European country importing 152,655 tons of oil in total, Press TV reported.
Shipments to Europe from Iran are increasing by the day, with the country's leading oil tanker operator NITC planning to expand its fleet to cope with the situation.
Iran has been ramping up oil production since the removal of sanctions, aiming to reach pre-sanction levels of around four million barrels per day (mbd) by the end of the year from around 3.8 million bpd in recent months.
The country has persuaded OPEC to exclude it from a deal under which members are bound to reduce their output by 1.2 mbd.
Last month, Iran delivered more than 2.2 mbd of crude to Asian and European markets, reported Mehr News Agency quoting an Oil Ministry report.
Iran's biggest oil customer is China which is expected to raise shipments from the Middle Eastern country to the highest in 11 months in August on growing demand for heavier Iranian crude.
Crude and condensate exports from Iran to China are set to hit 733,000 bpd in August, the highest since September, Reuters report.
Overall Iranian crude exports in August for Asia are set to fall to 1.3 mbd — down 0.3 percent from the figure for July.
However, Iran's exports to Europe have been rising, with new buyers joining the list of the country's crude oil clients.