Reuters: Iran's Oil Exports to Europe Exceed Pre-Sanction Levels

Reuters reports, citing sources in the oil industry, that Iran's daily oil exports to Europe (including Turkey) have reached 767,000 barrels this month. This figure represents a 10 percent increase compared to the previous month. The report, published on Wednesday, December 15, states that according to the International Energy Agency, Iran's average oil exports to Europe before sanctions were about 600,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, based on the latest updates from Eurostat, which publishes the EU's foreign trade statistics, although sanctions against Iran were lifted in January of this year, the European Union (excluding Turkey) began importing oil from Iran in March (early spring) and purchased about 173,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran from March to the end of August (six months). Official statistics from Turkey also indicate that the country's oil imports from Iran from January to August were about 110,000 barrels per day, showing little change compared to the same period last year. None of the mentioned official sources have provided new statistics for the past three months. Reuters writes that Turkey's oil imports from Iran have reached 190,000 barrels per day this month, nearly equal to the amount Turkey imported from Iran before sanctions. Thus, Iran's oil exports to the EU and Turkey have significantly increased in recent months. Before sanctions, Iran had a total daily crude oil export of 2.2 million barrels. Despite the increase in Iran's oil exports to Europe, the total oil exports from Iran this month have experienced an 8 percent decrease compared to November, reaching the lowest level in the past five months. Iran's daily oil exports this month stand at 1.88 million barrels, while this figure was 2 million and 40 thousand barrels last month. Oil imports from Iran by four major Asian customers have decreased by 17 percent this month compared to November, reaching 1.11 million barrels. China, Iran's largest oil customer, has reduced its oil imports from Iran in December by 28 percent, down to 400,000 barrels. Japan is purchasing 134,000 barrels, South Korea 60,000, and India 517,000 barrels of oil from Iran this month. India has increased its oil imports from Iran this month by 12 percent, becoming Iran's largest oil customer for two consecutive months instead of China. In this context, Iran's oil exports to India have surpassed those to Saudi Arabia, and Iran's oil exports to Asia have more than doubled compared to last year. OPEC has reached an agreement on reducing oil production; Iran was exempted.