Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Iran sold $11.5 billion worth of oil during the war and a further $6.5 billion during a ceasefire, when lower risks to tanker traffic helped increase exports and enabled the sale of part of around 100 million barrels of stored crude oil and gas condensate.
The sales generated more than 60% of the oil revenue forecast in Iran's annual budget, Paknejad said.
Previously, The Wall Street Journal estimated that Iran exported roughly 70 million barrels of oil worth an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion during the month-long suspension of the US blockade, rapidly rebuilding a financial buffer before restrictions returned.
Beginning in late June, about 20 Iranian tankers carrying oil arrived in waters off Malaysia’s east coast. The Diona was among the first vessels to reach the area, followed by the Hero II and the Sonia 1. The Stream arrived on July 13.
Analysts believe the shipments’ ultimate destination was China, which remains Iran’s principal market for sanctioned crude oil.
Oil shipments to China continue
Estimates compiled by United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based advocacy group, and oil analysts indicated that Tehran moved about 70 million barrels during the window between mid-June and mid-July.
Some 50 million barrels left Iran during the second half of June alone, roughly equivalent to one month of prewar Iranian exports to China, according to the advocacy group. The shipments followed a temporary US-Iran agreement signed on June 17 that withdrew the blockade, allowing tankers loaded at Iran’s eastern port of Chabahar to sail toward Asia. Several Iranian tankers had already begun moving through the Strait of Hormuz as the earlier blockade neared its end.