2019-05-20 11:25:00
IRAN'S OIL EXPORTS DOWN
REUTERS - Iranian crude oil exports have fallen in May to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) or lower, tanker data showed and industry sources said, after the United States tightened the screws on Tehran's main source of income, deepening global supply losses.
The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers. Aiming to cut Iran's sales to zero, Washington this month ended sanctions waivers importers of Iranian oil.
Iran has nonetheless sent abroad between 250,000 bpd and 500,000 bpd of oil so far in May, according to two industry sources who track the flows. Data from Refinitiv Eikon put crude shipments at about 250,000 bpd and exports of crude and condensate, a light oil, at about 400,000 bpd.
The bulk of the crude is heading for Asia, the industry sources said. It is unclear who is buying and whether the oil is heading to end-users or storage.
An Iranian official declined to comment on the export rate.
"The destinations are essentially India and China," one of the industry sources, who declined to be identified, said. "No more to Europe or to Turkey."
Iran's exports have more than halved since April, when Iran shipped less than 1 million bpd. They are also less than a fifth of the more than 2.5 million bpd that Iran shipped in April 2018, the month before President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal.
Iranian exports have become more opaque since U.S. sanctions returned in November. Tehran no longer reports its production figures to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and there is no definitive information on exports.
Some of Iran's oil exports are already under the radar, making it harder to assess volumes.
Crude exports of 500,000 bpd would be towards the lower end of expectations, based on comments this month from an Iranian official and an OPEC delegate.
The Iranian official, who is familiar with oil policy, had forecast exports could drop to 700,000 bpd but possibly as low as 500,000 bpd. The OPEC source said they are likely to continue at about 400,000 to 600,000 bpd.
Some analysts expect May shipments to be even less. Sara Vakhshouri, of consultancy SVB Energy International, expected exports between 200,000 bpd and 550,000 bpd.
"Iran already has plenty of stored oil and condensate in China," she said. "So we don't expect a significant shipment of oil in the month of May."
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Earlier:
2019, May, 17, 08:00:00
OIL PRICE: ABOVE $72
July ICE Brent crude futures were up 35 cents/b (0.48%) from Thursday's settle to $72.97/b, while the NYMEX June light sweet crude contract gained 41 cents/b (0.65%) at $63.28/b.
2019, May, 17, 07:55:00
OIL NEED PEACE
The region needs more peace and stability to ensure the flow of oil supplies, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has said, noting that, "Any tension that occurs in the region affects the whole world."
2019, May, 15, 12:05:00
OIL DEMAND GROWTH 2019: 1.3 MBD
IEA - Our headline growth estimate for 2019 has changed little since the middle of last year, but this month we cut it by 90 kb/d to a still healthy 1.3 mb/d.
2019, May, 15, 11:50:00
CHINA'S OIL THROUGHPUT 12.7 MBD
China's refinery crude throughput rose 5.1% year on year to 52.1 million mt, or 12.73 million b/d in April, a record high on barrel per day basis, preliminary data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
2019, May, 15, 11:25:00
IRAN NEED 1.5 MBD
The sanctions have already more than halved Iranian oil exports to 1 million bpd or less, from a peak of 2.8 million bpd last year. Exports could drop to as low as 500,000 bpd from May, an Iranian official told Reuters this month.
2019, May, 13, 12:55:00
CHINA'S OIL IMPORTS UP
Imports last month were 43.73 million tonnes, equal to 10.64 million barrels per day (bpd), according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
2019, May, 2, 16:45:00
IRAN'S ELIMINATION IS IMPOSSIBLE
Asked whether Iran’s oil could be removed from the market, Mr. Barkindo said: “No repetition is needed. Eliminating Iran from the oil market is impossible.”
