"Iran has built up a sizeable flotilla of cargoes that could hit the market fairly soon if the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program is restored and US oil sanctions imposed on Tehran are eased," Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing data from the Kpler research company.
It drew attention to the 93 million barrels of Iranian oil and gas condensate stored on ships in the Persian Gulf, off Singapore and near China, as well as oil reserves, although in smaller quantities, in Iran's onshore reservoirs. The International Energy Agency estimates that these reserves are generally comparable to this year's average daily global supply of 100 million barrels per day. If an agreement on the JCPOA is reached, they could be sent to buyers in a short time, Bloomberg points out.
“Iran has built up a sizeable flotilla of cargoes that could hit the market fairly soon,” said John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services Pte. Still, it may take “a bit of time” to iron out insurance and shipping issues, as well as spot and term sales post-sanctions.
In the long term, Iran will seek to restore production and increase sales abroad, Driscoll believes. He stressed that the Iranian side plans to "fill in the hole" left by Russia in the European oil market. Among the countries of interest to Tehran are Greece, Spain, Italy and Turkey. Iran might also try to restore its positions on the Asian market even if it would have to make a number of concessions in order to do so, the analyst believes.
Earlier Bloomberg noted that before the sanctions against Iran, Europe imported about 600 thousand barrels of Iranian oil a day, so even if sales recover to its previous level, they will not be able to fully replace supplies from Russia, because we are talking about 1.25 million barrels of Russian oil and oil products.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Kevin Casper/СС0
Based on materials from TASS