Iranupdated 1h ago3 min read
U.S. Naval Blockade Drains Iran’s Floating Oil Reserves, WSJ Cites Kpler Data
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Iran's floating oil stockpile in Asian waters fully depleted by mid-October under US naval blockade. Loss of Iranian barrels costs Tehran at least $25 billion in oil revenue.
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“the continuation of the maritime blockade is neither an isolated measure nor a merely economic one.”
“Iranian oil in floating storage has been drained amid the U.S. Navy blockade,”
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Blockade drains floating oil
Iran’s floating oil reserves in Asia ran dry under a U.S. naval blockade, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Iranian oil in floating storage had been drained amid the blockade, citing Kpler data. Kpler’s head of crude oil analysis, Homayoun Falakshahi, said, “There’s no more oil to discharge to China anymore,” as the report traced Iranian floating storage from close to 150 million barrels before the April blockade to less than 50 million barrels by mid-June. The U.S. lifted the blockade following a ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, but the deal collapsed in mid-July and the U.S. reimposed the blockade, leaving oil in floating storage at 866,000 barrels by mid-October.
The investingLive account tied the depletion to the blockade stopping Iran from replenishing crude normally sold to Chinese refineries, and it said US Central Command estimated the blockade denied Iran at least $25 billion in oil revenue. The investingLive summary also said oil sales account for roughly 30% to 40% of Iranian government revenue and are the country’s largest source of foreign exchange, while it noted the floating reserves peaked at nearly 90 million barrels and fell below 1 million barrels by October 5.
Iran rejects collapse claims
Iran’s central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, rejected claims that Iran’s economy is close to collapsing, saying, “the Iranian economy has demonstrated very good resilience, and the claim that Iran’s economy is collapsing is nothing more than an illusion,” as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. The Crude Oil Prices Today account said the president of Iran and the country’s foreign minister signaled they cannot trust the U.S., making peace talks a challenge. The investingLive account described a reshuffling of trade flows as Chinese refiners, particularly independents that relied on discounted Iranian crude, bought more from Brazil and West Africa, which it said could tighten Atlantic Basin grades and lift their premiums.
The investingLive account also said the bigger risk was escalation, because with its main revenue source shut off, Tehran has fewer economic options and more incentive to use energy disruption as leverage. The investingLive account added that Chinese payments can take around two months to arrive, so Tehran may still receive some funds from past sales in the coming weeks.
UN Security Council demand
Iran’s ambassador and chargé d’affaires to the United Nations, Gholamhossein Darzi, demanded UN condemnation of the U.S. naval blockade in a letter to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council president. Darzi told the UN leadership to reject and strongly condemn the continuation of U.S. aggressive actions through the naval blockade, calling it a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law, including the prohibition on the use of force and respect for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Darzi wrote that “the blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of another State” qualifies as an act of aggression, and he argued that the acts give rise to Iran’s inherent right to self-defense under international law.
The Pars Today account, citing IRNA, said Darzi urged the secretary-general and the Security Council to demand that the United States immediately end its military aggression against Iran and its naval blockade, respect Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and fully comply with its obligations under the UN Charter and international law. The Pars Today account also said the letter stressed that Iran would continue to exercise its inherent right to self-defense in response to any act of aggression, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.