Turkey’s Iranian Crude Imports Halved in September - Data
DUBAI Oct 31 (Reuters) - Turkey's crude oil imports from Iran halved to 110,308 barrels per day (bpd) in September from August while imports from alternative suppliers were on the rise, official trade data showed on Wednesday.
Iraq was Turkey's biggest crude supplier in September with imports reaching 115,447 bpd. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Libya were among the others.
Turkey's sole refiner Tupras imported 426,805 bpd of crude oil in September, the data showed.
In August, imports were around 221,000 bpd, although the spike was due to the August arrival of some shipments lifted in July.
The European Union oil embargo against Iran came into full force on July 1 and also targeted the region's marine insurance sector, which effectively cut off the usual avenues for tanker insurance.
Tupras has been unable to insure its own tankers to lift Iranian crude since July and has switching to Iranian-owned oil tankers.
Turkey was granted a waiver on Iranian oil by the United States for 180 days from June 11 after Ankara made an initial 20 percent import cut before sanctions came into effect.
Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said this month that Turkey expected the exemption to continue after December.