Iran becomes OPEC 4th largest oil exporter

TABNAK:Iran's oil and gas condensate exports reached the highest level since 2018, when the then US President Donald Trump unilaterally jumped out of Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with the West.

Trump also inserted maximum pressure policy on Iran and introduced tough economic sanctions against the country, targeting its oil sales in particular.

According to a newly-released report by Vortexa, which provides data on the global energy sector, Iran's oil and gas condensate exports now account for 9% of OPEC's total crude oil and gas condensate exports.

Iran exported 1.56 million barrels of oil per day over the first 5 months of this year (January 2024- May 2024), 250,000 bpd more than Kuwait and Nigeria. The move elevated Iran's ranking to the fourth spot among OPEC's largest crude oil exporters.

Analysts believe that Iran managed to increase its crude oil and gas exports to 1.7 million bpd in May despite Western sanctions, the highest level in the past five years.

Rise in China’s oil demands from Iran and expansion of Iran's oil tanker fleet as the main factors contributing to the surge in Iran's oil exports.