South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude importer, bought 859,223 tons of Iranian crude oil last month, or 203,165 barrels per day (bpd), three times higher than 273,626 tons imported a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday, Reuters reported.
The data showed that marks the highest imports for January since 2012 when South Korea shipped in 975,967 tons.
Seoul bought 5.7 million tons, or 114,595 bpd, of crude from Tehran last year, down 8 percent year-on-year, the report added.
Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri announced on Saturday that the country’s oil exports, which currently stand at 1.3 million barrels per day, will be increased to 2 million bpd within a few months.
It comes after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 finalized a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and implemented it on January 16.
The comprehensive nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran after coming into force.