TEHRAN - Iranian crude oil exports in April have remained above the level of exports during the same period in 2020, Reuters reported, stating that this is an indication of recovery in Iran’s oil exports as talks for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal progress.

According to Reuters, Iranian oil exports have risen since late 2020, despite U.S. sanctions.

In this regard, Geneva-based Petro-Logistics told Reuters that the Islamic Republic’s crude oil exports in April had eased month-on-month so far to around 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), but were high relative to 2020.

The firm initially put March exports at less than 600,000 bpd.

“Exports have continued at these elevated levels longer than we expected,” said Petro-Logistics Chief Executive Daniel Gerber. “And with constructive talks occurring in Vienna, we may never see a return to the 2020 lows.”

Tehran has been negotiating its conditions for reviving the nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the world powers since early April and the talks will resume next week based on the progress achieved so far.

A source at another company that monitors oil shipments has told Reuters that exports in the first two weeks of April looked to be just below 500,000 bpd, down from 600,000 bpd from March, but the figure could be revised.

“These export levels can come in very lumpy, and I would not draw any conclusion yet,” he said.

There is no definitive figure for Iranian exports. Petro-Logistics and other firms assess them by tracking tanker shipments.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production over the past few months following the recent developments in the White House and also the recovery of the global markets from the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest report by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) put Iranian crude output for March at 2.304 million barrels per day indicating a 137,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for the previous month.

Based on OPEC data, the country’s average crude output in the first quarter of 2021 stood at 2.190 million barrels per day indicating a near 197,000-bpd rise compared to the figure for the last quarter of 2020.

Fitch Solutions Incorporation, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, which is one of the U.S.’s three biggest credit rating agencies, has also forecasted a 6.8-percent growth for Iranian oil exports in 2021 if the U.S comes back to the 2015 nuclear deal.

EF/MA