By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
ANKARA (AA) - Iran remained Turkey's biggest crude oil exporter in the first quarter of 2018 despite a fall in Turkish crude oil imports from Iran, according to Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority's (EMRA) data.
Turkey's crude oil imports from Iran decreased by 20 percent to 2.1 million tons in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year, official information gathered by Anadolu Agency reveals.
Turkish total oil imports, including crude and diesel imports, decreased by 10.6 percent to 8.4 million tons in the January-March 2018 period, from 9.4 million tons during the same period of 2017.
Turkish crude oil imports decreased by 33.5 percent to 4.1 million tons in the first quarter of 2018, from 6.2 million tons in the first quarter of last year.
Despite the drop in imports, Iran retained its share in the Turkish market.
- Iran supplies Turkey half of its total crude
The share of Iranian crude oil in Turkey's crude imports increased to 50.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018 from 42.2 percent over the same quarter in 2017.
In the first quarter of 2018, Turkey's crude oil imports from five countries represented 89.2 percent of the country's total crude oil imports.
Iran supplied 2.1 million tons, Kuwait exported 454 thousand tons, Saudi Arabia delivered 451 thousand tons, Iraq supplied 427 thousand tons, and 272 thousand tons came from Russia.
Diesel, the country's second-biggest oil product import, rose 24.3 percent to 3.2 million tons in the January-March 2018 period, compared to the same period last year.
Turkey imported its diesel mainly from five countries, including Russia with 40.1 percent, India with 29.2 percent, Greece 12.9 percent, Israel 6 percent and Bulgaria with 2.1 percent.
- Iran holds 44.6 percent market share in 2017
In 2017, Turkey imported 42.6 million tons of oil and oil products including, crude oil, diesel, fuel oil, aviation fuel and marine fuels from several countries; Iran, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Turkey's sole oil product import from Iran was crude oil in 2017 with 11.5 million tons, representing 44.6 percent of total crude oil imports and 27 percent of overall oil product imports.
Crude oil and diesel imports held the biggest share of Turkey's total oil imports in 2017 at 25.8 million tons and 13.5 million tons, respectively.