Iran's crude oil exports drop to half a million barrels

Iran's crude oil exports drop to half a million barrels



18-05-2019 09:16 AM

Baghdad

Iran's crude oil exports fell in May to 500,000 bpd or less after the United States tightened sanctions on Tehran's main source of revenue, compounding losses in global supplies, data for tanker tracking showed.

Washington has re-imposed sanctions on Iran in the second Chlrin aimed at reducing Iranian crude exports to zero. The United States ended this month with exemptions granted to eight importers of Iranian oil.

Despite that, Iran has exported between 250,000 and 500,000 bpd of oil since the beginning of May, according to industry sources monitoring flows. The data from "Revivitiv Akon" showed shipments of crude at about 250 thousand barrels per day and exports of crude and condensates, a light oil, at about 400 thousand barrels per day.

The bulk of shipments are destined for Asia. It was unclear who the buyer was and whether the oil was going to consumers or to storage depots.

An Iranian official declined to comment on the export rate.

"The destinations are mainly India and China ... there are no longer shipments to Europe or to Turkey," said an industry source, who asked not to be identified.

Iran's oil exports have fallen more than half since April when the Islamic Republic shipped less than one million bpd. It is also less than 20% of shipments sent by Iran in April 2018, which amounted to more than 2.5 million barrels per day.

Iran's exports have become more uncertain since the return of US sanctions in November. Tehran no longer sends its production figures to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and there is no confirmed information on its exports.

Analysts expect shipments of Iranian crude in May to be less than 500,000 bpd. The analyst at SVB Energy International, an energy consultant, expects to export between 200,000 and 550,000 bpd.

"Iran already has abundant quantities of oil and condensates stored in China ... so we do not expect large crude exports in May," she said.

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