Brian Nelson, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, sees Iran’s increased capacity to transport its oil as dependent on service providers based in Malaysia, with this oil being transferred from the vicinity of Singapore’s waters and other areas to China.
Previously, numerous reports had been published about the transfer of Iranian oil to Malaysian waters, rebranding it, and sending it to China under the name of Malaysian oil to evade international sanctions.
The American official told reporters that the United States is striving to prevent Malaysia from becoming a “jurisdiction” of the United States, which is involved in illegally sending money to Iran and proxy groups such as Hamas.
Chinese customs statistics show that last year, more than 1.1 million barrels of oil were imported from Malaysia daily. Such a massive volume of “Malaysian oil” imports comes at a time when Malaysia’s total oil production doesn’t even reach 650,000 barrels.
On the other hand, China’s oil imports from Malaysia have increased more than sixfold compared to the period before U.S. sanctions against Iran.
In December 2023, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned four companies based in Malaysia on charges of supporting Iran’s drone production program.
According to data from the information company Kepler, Iran’s regime had daily oil exports of 1.5 million cubic meters in the first three months of this calendar year, which is 200,000 barrels more than in 2023. In 2023, Iran’s oil exports were also 48% higher than the previous year.
Iran’s daily oil exports dropped from 2.5 million barrels in 2018 and before U.S. sanctions to 330,000 barrels in 2020. However, with the Biden administration coming into power and hopes for the revival of the JCPOA, this figure has increased every year.
According to Reuters, more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports go to China with a $13 discount, while the rest is shipped to Syria and unknown destinations.
Mr. Nelson also stated that sanctions and export controls against Russia show “progress”: the $60 price ceiling on Russian oil reduces the Kremlin’s capacity to profit from oil sales while maintaining stability in global energy markets.
Under the sanctions of the seven industrialized countries and the European Union, Russian oil customers are only allowed to receive insurance and transit services from companies based in the G7 and Europe if they purchase Russian oil for less than $60.
This prevents both global oil markets from facing shortages and reduces Russia’s oil revenue.
Currently, global oil prices are around $83.
