LONDON – Iran has recently diversified its oil export destinations, sending small shipments of crude oil to emerging markets such as Bangladesh and Oman. This move highlights Tehran’s efforts to maintain high production levels, which are nearing a five-year peak.
Oil Minister Javad Owji announced in July that Iran is now exporting crude oil to 17 countries, including some in Europe, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. However, these claims have yet to be independently verified.
Among the new routes, the Golden Eagle tanker was reported to have delivered oil near Chittagong, Bangladesh, earlier this year. The shipment originated from Iran’s Kharg Island and was transferred to the Golden Eagle from another vessel. This transaction was tracked by Claire Jungman from the US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related maritime activities via satellite.
The oil delivery to Bangladesh was corroborated by additional export tracking sources, although an official with the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation noted that the cargo was not purchased by them, making it challenging to identify the end buyer.
Furthermore, shipping sources have confirmed that at least eight oil cargoes, predominantly from Iran, have been directed to Syria, with some already offloaded. Additionally, a separate tanker discharged a cargo, believed to be Iranian crude, at the Omani port of Sohar in June. This shipment was also transferred from a vessel that had loaded the crude at Iran’s Kharg Island earlier in the year, according to UANI’s Jungman.