Iranian Oil Exports Ended 2022 at a High

Companies that track oil flows say Iranian oil exports reached new heights during the last two months in 2022. These high-quality Iranian oil exports are expected to continue their strong growth into 2023 despite U.S. sanction.

Iran has had a limited oil export market since the U.S. President Donald Trump ended the 2015 nuclear agreement. He also imposed sanctions that were intended to reduce oil exports from Iran and provide revenue for his government.

His successor, President Joe Biden, has seen exports rise during his term. Some estimates suggest that they have reached their highest level since 2019. This is despite the fact that there have been headwinds like a stall at those talks and competition from cheaper Russian crude.

SVB International, an energy consultant, reported that Iran’s crude oil exports increased by 42,000 barrels per day in December. This is the highest figure SVB has reported on the basis of earlier estimates.

“In comparison to the Trump administration, there hasn’t been any serious crackdown or action against Iran’s oil exports,” Sara Vakhshouri, SVB. “January exports were so far strong like previous months.”

“Lower Chinese demand and Russia’s supply to China have been a major challenge for them. Most of its oil still goes to the Far East, ultimately China. Iran also helps Venezuela to export its oil.”

Adrienne Watson is a spokesperson for the National Security Council and said that the White House’s enforcement of sanctions is robust. “Iran’s macroeconomic figures clearly bear this out.”

“We have not and will not hesitate to take action against sanctions evaders, together with sanctions against Iran’s missile and drone trade, and human rights violations against the Iranian people,” Watson stated. The Treasury Department imposed sanctions Late last year, a smuggling ring for oil was found to be linked with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Consultant Petro-Logistics is an oil supply tracking company that also sees an upward trend in Iranian crude oil exports. According to its views, they have reached their highest point since March 2019 at their December peak.

Kpler, a data-intelligence firm, placed Iranian crude exports at 1.23 Million bpd for November. This was the highest level since August 2022. It is also almost equal to April 2019’s rate (1.27 million bpd). However, they dropped to just below 1,000,000 bpd for December.

The Iranian oil ministry didn’t respond to a request to comment on exports. Iran’s draft state budget This is based on even more shipments of 1.4million bpd, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

China is Iran’s largest customer. Analysts including FGE claim that most Iranian crude oil exports to China are disguised as crude from other countries to evade the sanctions. Iran claimed that documents were faked to hide the origins of Iranian cargoes in past.

Iran also last year expanded its role Venezuela is also subject to U.S. sanctions. Venezuela sent light oil supplies for refining and diluents in order to exportable crude grades.

It is not possible to give an exact figure for Iranian oil exports. Estimates often fall within a wide range. Different methods are used by tanker tracking companies to track flows. These include satellite data, port loading data, and human intelligence. Iran does not usually release figures.

Vortexa, another analyst, claims that China’s December Iranian oil imports hit a new high of 1.2million barrels per day. This is a 130% increase over the previous year.

“Most of these shipments found home in Shandong, where independent refiners have turned to discounted grades since the second half of 2022 amid sluggish domestic demand and depressed refining margins,” According to the company,

Responding to a request, China’s Foreign Ministry’s press department stated that: “The legitimate and reasonable cooperation between China and Iran under the international legal framework deserves respect and protection,” Without directly addressing the Reuters query about China’s record Iranian oil purchase,

Vortexa stated that Russian Urals, which is the main competitor grade to Iranian oil fell in December due to uncertainty caused by a price cap on Russian crude oil exports and a ban from the European Union.

Iran would benefit from a renegotiated nuclear agreement to increase its sales to other buyers such as South Korea or Europe.

Still, talks remain deadlocked since September. The special envoy to Washington for Iran, John Bolton, stated that in November, Tehran’s crackdown of anti-government protestors and the sale drones to Russia had been reported by Washington. turned Washington’s focus away From the deal.

Iran’s crude exports have fallen to just 100,000 bpd after Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal. They were 2.5 million bpd in 2018 when Trump took office.