Iranian exports fall, protests in Iraq, and more refineries to close

摘要

A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) claimed that US and EU sanctions cost Iran just over $40 bn in 2012 as crude oil exports were cut by 1-1.5 mnbpd. Output declined into 2013, falling by 50,000 bpd between December 2012 and January to 2.65mnbpd: the lowest in three decades, according to the IEA, which also reported a drop of 600,000 bpd in exports in the same period. The Iranians have responded by increasing their oil tanker fleet to enable them to evade sanctions on companies that supply insurance for Iranian cargoes of crude by delivering the oil themselves. Japanese ship-owners were advised that they could use fuel containing Iranian crude as bunker fuel after several months of uncertainty over whether heavy fuel oil mixed with crude broke EU sanctions covering the carrying of Iranian oil. Three Turkish companies were reported to be applying for licences to import electricity from Iran. A report by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said that the US military may have broken US sanctions by supplying Afghan forces with fuel from Iran.