LONDON (Dispatches) -- Iranian oil exports hit new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite U.S. sanctions, according to companies that track the flows, on higher shipments to China and Venezuela.
Tehran’s oil exports have been limited since former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran.
Exports have risen during the term of his successor President Joe Biden, who had allegedly sought to revive the nuclear deal, and hit the highest since 2019 on some estimates. This comes despite headwinds such as a stall in those talks and competition from discounted Russian crude.
Energy consultant SVB International said Iran’s crude exports in December averaged 1.137 million barrels per day, up 42,000 bpd from November and the highest 2022 figure SVB has reported based on estimates given earlier.
“January exports were so far strong like previous months,” said Sara Vakhshouri of SVB.
According to Vakhshouri, most of Iran oil still goes to the Far East, ultimately China. “Iran also helps Venezuela to export its oil.”
Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokesperson at the White House, said that the administration’s enforcement of the sanctions was robust, and “Iran’s macroeconomic figures clearly bear this out.”
Consultant Petro-Logistics, which tracks oil supply, said it was also seeing an upward trend in Iranian crude exports which, in its view, in December reached their highest level since March 2019.
Kpler, a data intelligence firm, put Iranian crude exports at 1.23 million bpd in November, the highest since August 2022 and almost on a par with April 2019’s rate of 1.27 million bpd, although they slipped to just below 1 million bpd in December.
Iran’s draft state budget is based on even higher shipments of 1.4 million bpd, the Fars news agency reported this week.
China is Iran’s biggest customer. Also, Iran last year expanded its role in enezuela, also under U.S. sanctions, sending supplies of light oil for refining and diluents to produce exportable crude grades.
According to another analyst, Vortexa, China’s December imports of Iranian oil hit a new record of 1.2 million bpd, up 130% from a year earlier.
The press department of China’s Foreign Ministry, in response to a request for comment, said: “The legitimate and reasonable cooperation