Iran has despatched small shipments of crude oil to new locations corresponding to Bangladesh and Oman, in line with transport sources and knowledge, the most recent signal of Tehran pushing to maintain output at near its highest in 5 years.
Oil gross sales are Iran’s main income supply and the nation has been on the lookout for methods to sidestep U.S. sanctions on its crude exports that former president Donald Trump re-imposed in 2018 over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran, which is exempt from output quotas set by the Group of the Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC), is striving to maximise manufacturing and exports.
Oil Minister Javad Owji stated in July that Iran was promoting crude oil to 17 international locations, together with these in Europe, in line with the semi-official Mehr Information Company. The main points couldn’t corroborated.
In a single new commerce, the Golden Eagle tanker sailed close to the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh earlier this yr after receiving oil from one other vessel that loaded it from Iran’s Kharg Island in line with accessible proof primarily based on transport knowledge, Claire Jungman, from U.S. advocacy group United Towards Nuclear Iran, informed Reuters.
The Golden Eagle offloaded elements of the cargo to smaller tankers in ship-to-ship switch operations round Chittagong in April, stated Jungman, whose organisation tracks Iran-related tanker site visitors through satellite tv for pc knowledge.
The cargo to Bangladesh was individually confirmed by one other oil export monitoring supply.
An official with state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Company, which operates the nation’s predominant refinery, stated it didn’t purchase the cargo and it was tough to ascertain who was the customer.
The Golden Eagle’s Liberia-based proprietor and supervisor listed in transport databases couldn’t be reached for remark.
Iranian officers didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Syria, OmanTehran’s oil output has topped 3.2 million barrels per day this yr, the very best since 2018, in line with OPEC figures, after posting one in every of OPEC’s largest output will increase in 2023 regardless of U.S. sanctions nonetheless being in place.
Iranian crude exports have reached new highs this yr, with March-Might being the strongest three-month interval since mid-2018, in line with Petro-Logistics, a Geneva-based agency which tracks tanker shipments.
“However volumes appear to be plateauing now,” stated Virginie Bahnik of Petro-Logistics.
At the very least eight cargoes of oil – largely from Iran – had been heading to Syria with some already discharged, transport sources stated. Shipments to Syria, nonetheless, had been beneath their peak some years in the past as Iran seeks different export locations.
Iranian oil deliveries into Syria have averaged 57,190 bpd in 2024 in contrast with a excessive of 147,000 bpd in 2022, in line with export evaluation from UANI’s Jungman.
A separate tanker delivered a cargo believed to be Iranian crude oil into the Omani port of Sohar in June after loading the consignment through a ship-to-ship switch with one other vessel that picked up the cargo from Iran’s Kharg Island earlier this yr, UANI’s Jungman stated, citing transport knowledge.
The ship monitoring supply additionally confirmed the arrival of this cargo into Sohar.
Sohar Port and Oman’s Maritime Safety Centre didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Iran has additionally begun bringing cargoes into China’s northeast Dalian port, including one other new vacation spot for its crude.
Tehran’s exports to China, which doesn’t recognise U.S. sanctions, have been flowing into the port, serving to maintain the nation’s oil imports at close to report ranges.
Tanker trackers and sellers say that merchants re-brand Iranian oil destined for China as originating from elsewhere, corresponding to Malaysia, Oman or the United Arab Emirates.
Iranian oil exports have now reached a peak and have stabilized round 1.5 million bpd, since February, stated Homayoun Falakshahi, senior crude oil analyst with Kpler.
(Reuters – Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Alex Lawler; further reporting by Ruma Paul, Yousef Saba and Parisa Hafezi; enhancing by Tomasz Janowski)
