Crude oil exports out of Iran rebounded in the second half of December, from a slow start to the month, according to vessel-tracking firm TankerTrackers.com.
“Iran’s crude oil exports have rebounded sharply after a slower first half of December 2024,” the tracking service has posted on X, without providing numbers.
Iran’s crude is not going to Syria now, TankerTrackers.com added.
Before the rebound in crude oil shipments observed by TankerTrackers.com in late December, Iranian oil exports were estimated to have slowed down in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Earlier this year, Iran boosted its oil exports to six-year highs.
However, exports are estimated to have slowed in October and November, as Iran’s crude oil going to China was priced at its narrowest discount to Brent in five years as Iranian cargo loadings slumped in October due to the heightened regional tensions in the Middle East.
In the middle of December, Iranian media reported that Iran’s oil exports to China slumped in November by 524,000 barrels per day (bpd) from October. At 1.31 million bpd, the Islamic Republic’s exports to its main buyer were the lowest in four months in November.
Iran is ready to face possible additional sanctions on its oil exports when President-elect Trump takes office early next year, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad was quoted as saying in November.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s most powerful armed force defending the regime, has increased its influence over Iranian oil exports and is estimated to control half of these, Western officials and Iranian insiders told Reuters last month.
Three years ago, the Revolutionary Guards controlled about 20% of Iran’s oil exports—now that share has surged to up to 50%, Western security experts and officials told Reuters.
Despite U.S. sanctions on the Iranian oil industry and exports, the Islamic Republic continues to export an estimated more than 1 million bpd of oil, mostly to China.
Source » oilprice