The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) affiliated
with the Department of Energy mentioned in its latest report that the total oil
production of Iran was estimated at 2.87 million bpd at the end of 2023. Iran’s
oil production stood at 2.54 million bpd in 2022.
The figures show that total OPEC oil production was 26.89
million bpd in 2023 which shows 630,000 barrels fall year on year. OPEC
produced 27.52 million bpd in 2022.
This report has put Iran's oil production in the last month
of last year at 3.17 million bpd.
Iran was the third-largest OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia
and Iraq in December 2023.
The
330,000-bpd increase in Iran’s 2023 oil production indicates that sanctions
have been ineffective on Iran's oil industry.
Back in June 2023, Bloomberg reported that the production
and export of Iranian oil in 2023 reached record highs since the country came
under US sanctions more than five years ago.
The report published in late June 2023 stated that Iran was
shipping the highest amount of crude in almost five years despite US sanctions.
Bloomberg cited energy analysts as saying that Iran’s oil
exports have surged to the highest level since the US unilaterally re-imposed
sanctions on the country in 2018.
A Reuters report, also said in June last year, that Iranian
crude shipments continued to rise in 2023 with higher shipments to China,
Syria, and Venezuela. The report quoted consultants, shipping data, and a
source familiar with the matter.
A large chunk of Iran’s crude oil goes to China which is the
world’s major importer of energy. Several European customers including Germany,
Spain, and Bulgaria also imported oil from Iran.
Iran has not released official figures about its oil exports
over the past years amid efforts to evade Washington’s illegal sanctions.
