Iran's crude oil buyers in Europe, Asia

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64J11C20100618

(Reuters) The U.N. Security Council passed a
fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its uranium enrichment
programme on June 10, and tougher measures swiftly followed from
the European Union and the United States.

Iran has called the moves "illegal and invalid", but a
number of oil companies, trading houses and international
businesses have stopped transactions with Iran this year.
It is extremely difficult to build up a complete picture of
Iranian crude purchases because the information is not
officially published.

Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter and an
OPEC producer, exports about 2 million barrels of oil a day.

European refiners buy at least 238,000 barrels per day (bpd)
from Iran, down from 608,000 bpd in a previous Reuters survey in
2008, while Asian refiners take roughly 1.4 million bpd.

China, eager to guarantee supplies for its fast-growing
economy, is still a keen buyer, while some refiners elsewhere
have reduced their exposure to Iranian crude, according to
industry sources.

For example, India's largest private refiner, Reliance
Industries (RELI.BO), will not renew a contract to import crude
oil from Iran for financial year 2010, two sources familiar with
the supply deal said on April 1. [ID:nSGE630033]

For Chinese refiners, the table below shows official term
contract volumes with Iran, although actual supplies can vary.
Chinese firms have contracts to lift about 440,000 bpd.

Following are industry estimates of Iran's export volumes by
customer. Volumes are in thousand barrels per day:

CUSTOMER VOLUME ASIA CUSTOMER VOLUME EUROPE

Zhuhai Zhenrong (China) 240 Tupras (Turkey) 63
Sinopec (China) 200 Cepsa (Spain) 25
MRPL (India) 130 Hellenic (Greece) 60
Nippon Oil (Japan) 120 Repsol (Spain) 80
SK Energy (S. Korea) 120 Petrogal (Portugal) 10
Hyundai Oilbank (S. Korea) 70
Showa Shell (Japan) 120 TOTAL EUROPE 238
Toyota Tsushu (Japan) 50
Essar Oil (India) 50
Cosmo Oil (Japan) 45
Japan Energy (Japan) 75
IOC 35
HPCL (India) 60
Mitsui (Japan) 15
Mitsubishi (Japan) 35
Itochu (Japan) 5
BPCL (India) 5
Kanematsu (Japan) 15
Idemitsu Kosan (Japan) 12
Marubeni (Japan) 10
Essar Oil (India) 50

TOTAL ASIA 1,462



(For a related Q+A, click on [ID:nLDE65H11K])

(Compiled by Reuters London energy desk, reporting by
Beijing, Singapore, Milan, Madrid, Dubai, Paris and Tokyo
bureaux, editing by Jane Baird)