Turkey bought 7 percent of Iran’s oil exports between January and June 2011, just behind Italy. But in the second quarter of 2011, Turkey imported close to 217,000 barrels per day from Iran, becoming the fifth-ranked importer, reports Reuters.
Turkey remains a loyal customer of Iranian oil, likely in part because it is one of the most dependent countries on Iranian oil. The Guardian reports that over 50 percent of Turkey’s crude imports come from Iran.
Turkish oil officials had asked the US to consider compensation for the cost of moving away from Iranian oil imports, reports Reuters. However, Turkey announced this week it would not halt imports from Iran after briefly considering Saudi Arabian oil as a possible substitute for reduced Iranian oil imports.
