TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji says the country has been able to collect up to 2.5 times more oil revenues in the last Iranian calendar month (January 21-February 19) compared to the previous years, Shana reported.

“Fortunately, the revenues from the sale of oil [in the previous month] have been collected, and I can say that the revenues collected in the previous month are at least two to 2.5 times more than the previous years’ [same month],” Oji said on Sunday.

The minister noted that the country’s crude oil exports have also been on an upward trajectory and will further increase in the upcoming months despite the growing pressure of the U.S. sanctions on the Iranian energy sector.

Oji said Iranian oil exports reached significant levels in February amid efforts by the country to get around the sanctions and pump more oil to markets in East Asia.

“Iran’s oil sales over the last month (February) were considerable despite the sanctions and they are expected to further increase in the coming months,” the minister noted.

He said revenues from sales of Iranian petrochemical shipments also reached nearly $14 billion in the 11 months to late January.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production and exports over the past year as the country has been implementing new strategies to overcome U.S. sanctions.

Figures by international tanker tracking services released in January showed that oil exports from Iran in late 2022 had reached records not seen since the country came under U.S. sanctions nearly five years ago.

The figures suggested that Iran had shipped more than 1.2 million barrels per day of oil to export markets late last year and the shipments continued to rise in early 2023 with higher exports to China and Venezuela.

EF/MA