Kamal Ghorui
Iran is benefitting twofold from the sale of oil amid rising prices since the start of the war as it is the only country to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is estimated to have generated roughly $139 million per day from sales of this key blend so far in March, up from about $115 million per day in February, Bloomberg reported citing export estimates from TankerTrackers.com.Despite US and Israel’s continuous strikes on Iran, its crude exports are estimated to have stayed broadly in line with prewar levels of around 1.6 million barrels per day this month, the report said. Tankers carrying Iranian oil are still loading at the Kharg Island terminal and transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with activity picking up in recent days. Meanwhile the war-hit nation has blocked ships going to aggressor nations via Hormuz.
Iran’s crude has strengthened relative to the global Brent benchmark, with its discount narrowing to about $2.10 per barrel at the start of this week, the tightest level in nearly a year. Before the conflict, the gap had exceeded $10 per barrel..While countries such as Iraq and Kuwait have been forced to sharply curb output and the UAE and Saudi Arabia have rushed to find alternative export routes, Iran has continued shipping crude from the Persian Gulf, exporting about 1.6 million barrels a day on average between March 1 and 23, near prewar levels, after already recording unusually high shipments in February, the strongest since around July 2018.Oil facilities at Iran’s key export hub on Kharg Island have remained untouched by US strikes, which targeted only military sites, even as US President Donald Trump had indicated at attacking the island during the initial days of the war.Iran has warned US and Israel that Hormuz would be “completely shut” if its energy infrastructure is targeted. Trump halted attacks on its energy infrastructure till April 6 saying the talks are going very well“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” he said.
