Just days after the smiles in Tehran, further evidence has emerged that Russia is competing with Iran and Venezuela for oil markets in China and India, according to shipping analytics firm Vortexa.
Iranian crude oil and condensate exports declined over the first half of 2022 after an initial surge in January 2022, as exports fell 160kbd (thousand barrels per day) from the first quarter to 820kbd in the second quarter, when Russia started to capture Iranian and Venezuelan oil markets in China.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Iran's exports had risen sharply in January, the highest month on record since United States’ sanctions were imposed in 2018, surpassing 1.1mbd: "This contributed to a strong Q1 2022 where exports averaged 980kbd, a 130 kbd increase from Q4 2021.”
Source: Iran International