TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior South Korean official said his country’s firms are ready to increase imports of crude oil and condensates from the Islamic Republic of Iran as soon as anti-Iran sanctions are lifted off.
"Just like many other foreign companies, South Korean companies are also preparing for the removal of Iranian sanctions, while seeking more business opportunity with Iran," Platts quoted Vice Minister at South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Jae-do Moon as saying late on Friday.
Moon made the remarks in an interview with the Platts on the sidelines of the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo.
"At the moment we do not have a specific target for crude oil imports from Iran,” he added.
"Because Korean companies used to trade with Iran for a certain amount before, once the trade is normalized at the company level, there could be room for improvement."
Moon's comments on increased interest in cargoes from Iran come just after a South Korean delegation, comprising government and company officials, visited Tehran in August, becoming the latest in a series of high-ranking delegations -- including those from Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the UK -- to visit Iran in the weeks following the landmark nuclear agreement in mid-July.