South Korea has been one of Iran’s biggest oil customers in the past. However, last month, for the third month in a row, the country’s oil import from Iran was zero due to US economic sanctions against Iran.

Based on the data released by South Korea, last month the country has imported most of its oil from Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

Since May 1 when sanction waivers were not extended by the United States, Seoul has not bought any oil from Tehran.

In July of last year, before the US sanctions, South Korea was buying 185,715 barrels of oil a day from Iran.

Customs data show that in the first 7 months of 2019, South Korea’s oil import from Iran dropped by 44 percent compare to the same period last year.

Korean companies who used to prefer Iran’s ultra-light oil, are now buying oil from UAE and the US, and their oil purchase from the United States has tripled in July.

The United States has also replaced Kuwait as South Korea’s second-largest oil provider.

The United States has set a record by exporting 60 million and 230 thousand barrels of oil to South Korea in the first half of 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s oil export to South Korea has also increased by 1.7 percent compared to the same period last month and has now reached 787,495 BPD.

Oil Import from UAE has also increased by 34.8 percent to 265,470 BPD.