TEHRAN – Iran's oil income in 2022 reached $42.6 billion, which is $1.5 billion more than the country’s oil revenues in the first year of the implementation of the nuclear deal (2016) when the figure was $41.1 billion, according to the data presented at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Annual Statistical Bulletin 2023.

The increase in Iran's oil exports to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) at the end of 2022, according to Kepler's statistics, and the increase in oil prices are among the reasons for Iran's oil income in the mentioned year.

Iran has been increasing its oil production and exports over the past few years despite the U.S. sanctions.

Back in June, Bloomberg reported that the production and export of Iranian oil in 2023 have reached record highs since the country came under U.S. sanctions more than five years ago.

The report published in late June cited energy analysts as saying that Iran’s oil exports have surged to the highest level since the U.S. unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on the country in 2018.

The crude shipments doubled since last autumn to reach 1.6 million barrels a day in May, according to the report.

A Reuters report, also said in the same month, that Iranian crude shipments continued to rise in 2023 with higher shipments to China, Syria, and Venezuela. The report quoted consultants, shipping data, and a source familiar with the matter.

A large chunk of Iran’s crude oil goes to China which is the world’s major importer of energy. Several European customers including Germany, Spain, and Bulgaria also imported oil from Iran.

The United States, under former president Donald Trump, abandoned the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018 and reinstated unilateral sanctions that the agreement had lifted.

Tehran's oil exports have been limited since May 2018. However, the exports have risen steadily during the term of current U.S. President Joe Biden.

The crude exports exceeded 1.5 million bpd in May, the highest monthly rate since 2018, Reuters reported quoting Kpler, a major international tanker-tracking service.

The exports were roughly 2.5 million bpd in 2018, before the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran said in May it has boosted its crude output to above three million bpd. That's about three percent of global supply and would be the highest since 2018, according to OPEC.

EF/MA