Iran’s Oil Production And Exports Surged In August

• New ship-tracking data suggests Iran’s oil production and exports climbed above pre-sanction levels in August.
• Iran has been increasing exports while simultaneously negotiating with the U.S. over billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
• In August, Iran’s oil production is estimated to have hit 3.15 million bpd while some export estimates were as high as 1.77 million bpd.

Iran’s oil production and exports likely soared in August to the highest since the U.S. sanctions were imposed in 2018, ship-tracking data and analysts have told Reuters.

Iran has been raising its crude and condensate production for months and has increased shipments of its oil, mainly to China, while the U.S. and Iran are said to be negotiating over the possible release of five Iranian Americans being held in Tehran and unfreezing of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.

Some analysts have attributed Iran’s higher oil sales abroad despite the current sanctions to the U.S. not looking to clamp down too much on the exports as it looks to keep oil markets well supplied.

In August, Iran’s oil production is estimated to have hit 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), several tanker-tracking firms and consultants told Reuters.

Consultants at SVB International peg the Iranian crude and condensate exports at just below 2 million bpd in August. TankerTrackers.com also has similar estimates provided to Reuters, with crude exports at 1.77 million bpd and overall crude and condensate exports at 1.92 million bpd between August 1 and August 27. Kpler sees Iran’s crude oil exports averaging 1.2 million bpd in August.

Iran reports neither its oil production nor exports, but vessel-tracking companies have noticed an uptick in Iranian exports in recent months.

In the middle of August, a senior Iranian government official was quoted as saying that crude oil exports from Iran had gone up to 1.4 million bpd.

Separately, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company has said there were plans to boost oil production to 3.5 million bpd by the end of September.

At the time when the current Iranian administration took office in 2021, the country was producing 2.2 million bpd of oil, NIOC’s chief executive Mohsen Khojastehmehr was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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