TEHRAN: The latest market figures show that oil exports in April reached the highest level in over four years – a yet another indication that the country is regaining the share of the market it lost as a result of the sanctions at a faster pace than expected.
Figures provided by Reuters show that Iran loaded 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil for exports to international markets last month. This is around 15 percent higher than the estimate provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this month.
Reuters has emphasized in its report that another major rise in Iran’s oil exports is expected to occur in May when the country’s shipments could jump to 2.1 million bpd. That will mark an increase of 60 percent compared to the same month last year when Iran’s oil exports stood at 1.3 million bpd. The report said the sharp rise in Iran’s oil exports has put the country is a better position in its rivalry with Saudi Arabia over the global oil market.
It has also cited experts as saying that the rise in Iran’s loadings suggests that the country has already overcome a tanker shortage that threatened to derail attempts to regain market share after the sanctions were lifted in January. Reuters further added that the market figures show that Iranian exports are rapidly returning to near pre-sanctions levels. Loadings to Asia were 1.7 million bpd in April, about a third higher than a year ago and the most since 2011.
Iran’s sales to Europe, including Turkey, are also rising fast and have already reached about half of the pre-sanction levels. April loadings to Europe totaled 487,000 bpd and are set for 400,000 bpd this month. European countries were buying as much as 800,000 bpd before 2012, Reuters added.
