Iranian crude oil exports to eastern Asia have been soaring since mid-2015, thanks to the removal of international sanctions in January 2016. Oil exports to the four largest buyers, namely China, India, Japan and South Korea, rose by 50% to 1.56 mb/d between March 2015 and March 2016; before 2012 and international sanctions, Iran used to export around 2.3 mb/d, with more than half going to these buyers.
Oil exports to Japan surged by 61% between May 2015 and May 2016, reaching 308,000 bbl/d, i.e. 9% of Japan's oil imports. Iran became Japan's fourth largest oil supplier, behind Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Before the sanctions, Japan used to import around 338,000 bbl/d from Iran and continue to import during the sanctions, under a preliminary nuclear agreement.
Oil exports to South Korea more than doubled between June 2015 and June 2016 (+115%), reaching 254,650 bbl/d. South Korea is the fifth largest crude oil importer and oil imports from Iran should continue to grow.