An Iranian official this week gave a rare figure for Iran’s enigmatic oil exports, telling state affiliated news agency Fars News that since the beginning of the Iranian calendar year (20 March 2020) oil exports have averaged between 600,000-700,000 b/d.

It is unclear whether Hamid Pourmohammadi, deputy head of Iran’s budget and planning organization, was including refined products in this figure, or just crude and condensate, but the figure is certainly on the higher end of recent estimates: several vessel tracking services have put Iranian exports well below 500,000 b/d since the imposition of US sanctions led to a gradual collapse post-2018 (MEES, 10 April). (CONTINUED - 353 WORDS)