Iran

Iran's oil exports to key buyers in Asia have so far stayed strong, but shipping data indicates that its third largest buyer South Korea has now halted purchases ahead of looming US sanctions. After a strong May, Asian imports fell to a 12-month low in June and worse is to come.

As Iraq's dominant Shia political groupings feel the wrath of protests, Saudi Arabia has spotted an opening to wean Baghdad away from Iran.

As rhetoric heats up, the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint is attracting concern that regional oil exports could be shut off. Riyadh’s ‘Plan B’ relies on the Bab al-Mandeb strait where Yemen’s Houthis this week attacked Aramco tankers. Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue is also threatened.

With Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif sacked, Iran’s economic crisis has claimed its most senior victim to date. More economic reshuffling is likely, but Iran needs more than cosmetic changes.

Iran posted an $8.2bn deficit in the last financial year. But with a growing economic crisis and looming sanctions, this may prove the highwater mark for some time.

The world’s spare oil production capacity is growing increasingly stretched and alarm bells are ringing within the IEA. The...

Latest output forecasts from the US government’s Energy Information Administration show crude and NGLs output soaring to new...

Tehran’s chaotic attempts to stabilize its economy in the face of tightening US sanctions have failed to calm the...

As the dust settles from last week’s series of meetings between the Opec+ contingent, it is increasingly evident that...

A mammoth week of negotiations culminated in Opec’s sparring members effectively agreeing to release an extra 500,000 b/d onto global markets on 22 June. Individual country allocations have been replaced by a group-wide ceiling that will permit the stronger members to capitalize on falling output from the weaker countries.

The IEAs’ first oil market outlook for 2019 highlights both the uncertainties surrounding next week’s Opec meeting in Vienna...

Iran has received a geopolitical boost from two summits in two continents. At the G7 in Montreal, US efforts to secure the buy-in of key allies on Iran sanctions took a hit, whilst in China, Iran held crucial talks with Russia and major Asian economies.