Iran managed to export at least 57 million barrels of oil during the brief period between the US ceasing to block its ports and the blockade being reinstated, according to Bloomberg.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US would once again begin blocking ships from entering and leaving Iranian ports. He stated that the US intends to act as a guarantor of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and will charge ships a fee amounting to 20 per cent of the value of the cargo carried to cover the costs of ensuring security.
This decision comes less than a month after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding, which led to the resumption of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
During this period, Iran was able to export at least 2.2 million barrels of oil per day, which is a fairly high figure by recent standards. The actual volumes of shipments could have been even higher, given that the country may be concealing data on cargo flows, notes Bloomberg.
These figures include both shipments from Iran’s export terminals and consignments of oil held on tankers blocked in one of Iran’s ports in the Gulf of Oman.
The arrival of Iranian oil on the market contributed to a sharp fall in oil prices during the first two weeks following Iran’s signing of a preliminary agreement with the US. On Monday, following Trump’s announcement of the resumption of the naval blockade of Iran, oil prices rose by more than 9 per cent.