The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has reported a decrease in Iran’s oil production for the second consecutive month.
According to the latest monthly report published on OPEC’s website, Iran’s daily oil production in February has decreased by 15,000 barrels compared to January and 24,000 barrels compared to December of the previous year.
OPEC statistics indicate that Iran produced an average of 3.148 million barrels of crude oil per day in the past month.
This decline in production aligns with recent reports from the U.S. Congress and some oil tanker tracking companies, all pointing to a reduction in Iran’s oil exports.
Iran’s oil exports have been on a downward trend since the fall of this year, leading to a decrease in oil production over the past two months.
According to U.S. Congress and oil tanker tracking companies, Iran’s average daily oil exports in 2023 were approximately 1.3 million barrels. This figure peaked above 1.5 million barrels in the summer but has been declining since the fall.
Interestingly, despite the Iranian regime including daily oil exports of 1.5 million barrels and setting the price at $85 in the new Iranian budget starting March 21, recent OPEC statistics indicate that the average price of Iranian oil in 2023 was slightly over $80.
In addition to the decline in exports, the U.S. Congress report suggests that Iran is offering significant discounts to Chinese refineries, and international middlemen are profiting from bypassing Iran’s oil sanctions.
Earlier reports from Reuters stated that Iran sold its oil to small and independent Chinese refineries with a $13 discount per barrel in 2023, while large Chinese refineries did not purchase oil from Iran.
This is evident in official customs data, showing that Iran exported $32.59 billion worth of oil and mazut from March 2023 to February 2024.
Considering the daily export of 1.3 million barrels of crude oil at a price above $80 and around 220,000 barrels of mazut, Iran should have generated nearly $41 billion in oil revenue. However, customs data reports a figure below $32.6 billion.
Before U.S. sanctions, Iran used to produce 3.8 million barrels of oil daily, with 2.5 million barrels dedicated to oil and gas exports.
