TEHRAN: Iran exhausted its floating oil stockpile in Asian waters by mid-October after a US naval blockade blocked replenishment, Kpler analysts told The Wall Street Journal.
Dozens of tankers had held millions of barrels of Iranian crude offshore. Tehran gradually sold those supplies to Chinese buyers during the war.
Kpler head of crude oil analysis Homayoun Falakshahi said the remaining stock had now disappeared. “There’s no more oil to discharge to China anymore,” Falakshahi said.
The tanker reserves had provided Iran with a continuing source of export revenue while the blockade restricted new shipments from Iranian ports.
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US Central Command (CENTCOM) separately claimed on Saturday that the blockade had denied Tehran at least $25 billion in oil revenue.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said the pressure would make it harder for Iran to replace damaged factories and weapons. He described the economic costs to Iran’s security apparatus as severe.
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The supplied reporting does not include an Iranian government response to the depletion assessment or CENTCOM’s revenue estimate.
Kpler analysts say Iran exhausted the floating crude stockpile held aboard tankers in Asian waters by mid-October after the US blockade prevented replenishment.
