Russian, Iraqi crude - a big threat to Iran's oil exports
After the "Geneva agreement" on Iran's nuclear program, speculations about reviving Iran's halved crude oil export to international markets have risen. The Middle East country's crude oil export decreased from 2.2 million barrels per day to below one mbpd since 2011, while condensate export dropped by 34 percent to about 200 tbpd during the mentioned period. The latest report published by Iran's Custom Administration says the country's condensate export soared to 345 tmbd during last Iranian calendar month (Oct.21 to Nov.22), even more than pre-sanctions' level, but what about crude oil? First of all, let's review what mechanisms were used by Iran toward the West's sanctions, aimed at chocking up the country's oil exports. Iran was unable to boost refinery capacity, so it was forced to start closing down some oil wells as well as storing crude oil in tankers. Reportedly, Iran holds 25 to 30 million barrels of unsold oil storage in tankers, ...