Forbes quotes a report by TankerTrackers.com, saying that Iran has actually been exporting a considerable amount of oil to many destinations, more than what has been said by others. TankerTrackers is an online service that monitors oil tankers around the globe, usually via satellite, and has been following Iran’s oil storage and exports since 2015. This new report, utilizing data from MarineTraffic and Planet Labs, released on October 7, is one of the most comprehensive accountings of Iranian oil movements.
Despite high profile reports that the sanctions will cut off 1.5 million barrels per day of Iranian oil, new data on oil shipments from the month of September reveals a picture of the Iranian oil industry that is still robust.
For example, India’s imports of Iranian oil have actually remained virtually unchanged between August and September, according to TankerTrackers.com. The country is Iran’s second largest customer. TankerTrackers asserts that it imported 14.97 million barrels of Iranian oil in both August and September. This is an evidence indicating that India has not significantly decreased its imports of Iranian oil.
Trump's hawkishness has caused a spike in oil prices. The price of the international oil benchmark, Brent, is up 50% in the last year and gasoline prices are nearing $4 per gallon in some parts of the country. Speculators are increasingly predicting $100 oil by the new year.
Now, the US government, which is worried about rising oil and gasoline prices resulting from the latest set of sanctions that it will implement against Iran’s oil and gas industry, is forced to study waivers for players active in Iran’s oil and gas sector.
The US Administration on Tuesday gave BP and Serica Energy a new license to run a North Sea gas field partly owned by Iran.
MR/4427826