The US has upped their sanctions against Iran once again in their attempts to restrict Iran's oil exports and the subsequent revenue that it provides the Persian country. Hopes are high that a final squeeze on the Iranian economy will encourage more serious negotiations at next month's talks, to be held in Kazakhstan.
However the International Energy Agency (IEA) has just released a report that states that oil shipments leaving Iran actually increased by 13 percent last month, from 1.13 million barrels a day in January, to 1.28 million barrels a day in February.
Despite the reduced volume of oil exports leaving the country compared to the years before the sanctions where introduced, Iran has managed to stave off the worst of the economic pressure due to the high oil prices making up for the loss in volume sold.
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The report stated that "the only thing clear is that the current stalemate between Iran and the West is unsustainable. Sooner or later, something has to give."
One of the ways that Iran has been able to increase its oil exports is through the purchase of second-hand tankers, which it has been using to transport oil to China.
Having said that, Iranian exports are still down massively over the past couple of years: In 2011 they exported 2.5 million bpd, in 2012 1.5 million bpd, and so far this year they are down to 1.28 million bpd.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More