Iran pulled off an oil export blitz in the narrow window between the lifting and reimposition of U.S. sanctions, shipping more than 80 million barrels of crude and refined products worth over $6 billion, according to new data from research firm TankerTrackers.com released Tuesday.
1+Between June 18 and July 13, Tehran moved the massive volume to foreign buyers, capitalizing on the brief sanctions-free period.
As talks with the West began collapsing last week, Iran accelerated the pace. On the night of July 8-9 alone, the country shipped out more than 10 million barrels.
1+But sanctions that kicked in on July 13 cut the operation short, leaving roughly 30 million barrels stuck in the country’s storage facilities.
The windfall changes economic forecasts about Tehran’s ability to withstand pressure. Intelligence officials had previously estimated Iran faced economic collapse as soon as August. The new revenue is expected to extend the country’s economic survival by several additional months. Iran is currently estimated to have about 60 million barrels of floating storage capacity within sanctions reach.