Iran’s crude oil and condensate exports reached 2.6 million barrels per day in June, higher than its average volumes over the past year.
Last month, Iran’s crude oil exports reached 2.28 million bpd, while condensate—ultra light oil—volumes hit 330,000 bpd, up 10% compared with that of the month before, Oil Ministry’s news service Shana reported on Monday.
Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government's spokesman, recently announced that the country's oil revenues during the first quarter of the current fiscal observed a 59.8% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
This, however, could be due to a surge in oil prices. Iran's crude price in the current fiscal has averaged $66 per barrel.
June exports are down by about 100,000 bpd from the high levels in May and the previous months, but there is no sign of a mass exodus yet.
For May, Iran’s crude oil exports reached a record 2.7 million bpd, the highest level since Iran signed the nuclear deal with global powers, despite US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal in the same month.
Iran exported record-high volumes of crude oil and condensate of 2.877 million bpd to Asian and European markets in April.
The volumes are still way higher than the country's exports in the past fiscal (ended in March), which averaged 2.11 million bpd.
Keeping Market Shar
eTrying to continue more oil trades despite the looming US sanctions, Tehran has reportedly shipped its first batch of crude cargo from West Karoun oil block in the southern Khuzestan Province to Spain’s Repsol.
Trade shows Tehran’s willingness not only to raise oil exports but also to expand trade with Europeans.
"Other customers might be on board," Shana added, noting that the National Iranian Oil Company has distributed samples of the heavy oil from oilfields in southwest Iran to some customers. NIOC sold its first oil cargo to Chile last month after 16 years.
As part of another strategy to counter US sanctions, First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said on Sunday that Iran will allow private companies to export crude oil.
The country is looking at ways to continue exporting oil and take other measures to counter sanctions after the United States told allies to cut all imports of Iranian oil from November.
“Iranian crude oil will be offered on the bourse and the private sector can export it in a transparent way," Reuters quoted Jahangiri as saying
Iran has an oil and petrochemical bourse as part of its mercantile exchange.
