TEHRAN - A report published in the Iranian media shows that crude oil exports from the country have remained at levels above 1 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of the calendar year in late March.
The Tuesday report by the semi-official Fars news agency cited figures by the Iranian Oil Ministry’s fuel department and said that crude consumption in Iranian refineries had not exceeded an average of 1.7 million bpd since March.
It said that the rest of the Iranian crude production of nearly 2.55 million bpd, in addition to around 200,000 bpd of condensate, which is a very light form of crude oil, had been supplied to foreign customers over the period.
The report cited figures by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) about the average daily crude production in Iran. It also referred to statements by Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji and other officials suggesting a surge in overseas shipments of condensate in recent months.
The figures comes amid reports suggesting that Iranian supply of crude to private buyers in China have declined in recent months following Russia’s decision to reroute its oil shipments to Asia because of U.S. and European Union sanctions that have been imposed on the Moscow following the war in Ukraine.
Iranian crude exports to China started to increase to over 1 million bpd in the second half of 2021 and remained at the same levels earlier this year.
The surge in Iranian crude exports has been hailed as a blow to the American sanctions that have targeted Iranian oil trade since 2018.