Iran’s Oil Exports Increase Despite US Sanctions

IRAN increased its seaborne oil exports last year despite facing further US sanctions. The country exported nearly 430m barrels, which was a 3.3% increase on 2021 levels, according to US monitoring group United Against Nuclear Iran. China was the top destination for Iranian barrels in 2022, accounting for about 70.8% of its seaborne oil exports, UANI’s tanker tracking data shows. Syria, Venezuela, the UAE and Malaysia accounted for 7.2%, 4.6%, 2.7% and 0.6% respectively; the destination for 14.2% of the barrels was unknown. The monitoring group said that China’s non-state, “teapot refineries” are responsible for the bulk of Iranian oil imports, which helps obscure the oil’s origin and shields Beijing’s larger, state-owned importers from US scrutiny.