Japan imports over 175,000 bpd of Iranian oil in March

TEHRAN,April 27(MNA) - Japan’s crude imports from Iran amounted to about 175,200 barrels a day in March, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance. However, imports fell 51 percent from a year ago, according to Bloomberg. Iran’s oil exports will average 1.38 million barrels a day in the current Iranian fiscal year starting March 21, 2013, the International Energy Agency estimates. That’s in line with the government’s budget expecting 1.3 million barrels a day. Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said Iran has significantly developed its capacity to ship oil overseas despite U.S.-led sanctions. “Today, we have to keep ability to transport the oil shipments more than the capacity we had even prior to the sanctions,” the minister said, Press TV reported. “We have no problem in this regard. And we have other customers and, in fact, it’s not possible to ignore us in the global market. If Europeans do not purchase our oil, we have also imposed sanctions on them. We have other customers today and more than 60 countries today, in fact, are purchasing our petrochemical and oil products and derivatives,” he added. At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors. The sanctions, which prevent the EU member states from purchasing Iranian oil or extending insurance coverage for tankers carrying Iranian crude, came into effect on July 1, 2012. The U.S.-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran rejects the allegation, saying that as a committed signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. On March 13, the U.S. extended Japan’s exemption from sanctions on banks doing business with Iran for a third six-month term because of steps taken to reduce imports.