Tanker Tracking

In the two years since the start of the Biden Administration, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to export just over 600 million barrels of oil to China, worth around $48 billion. When questioned about these eye-watering numbers this month, U.S. Special Envoy to Iran Rob Malley assured Bloomberg that the Biden team was “not fine with it.”  Unfortunately, Mr.

Since August 2020 and via over almost 50 letters, United Against Nuclear Iran (“UANI”) has informed the Panama Maritime Authority (“AMP”) that  140 of its flagged vessels were suspected of being involved in the transport of Iranian oil. UANI relayed  substantive and meticulously researched evidence to AMP, including but not limited to the following:

UANI’s final tanker tracker of the year looks back at some of the topline figures for 2022, prescriptions for 2023, and UANI’s impact over the year.

2022 Summary

In 2022 Iran managed to increase exports slightly by 3.3%, from 416 million barrels in 2021 to just under 430 million in 2022.  The free flow of Iranian oil exports is the number one reason keeping the regime financially alive.

What the EU Ban on Russian Oil Could Mean for Iran

On December 5, the European Union will ban Russian crude oil imports EU tankers will also be barred from transporting, insuring, and financing Russian oil shipments.

On October 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged five Russian nationals and two oil traders over an alleged money laundering and global sanctions evasion scheme. A 12-count indictment was unsealed in a New York federal court, accusing the defendants of obtaining military technology from U.S.

United Against Nuclear Iran’s (UANI’s) ship-tracking data and research shows that the Trump and Biden administrations had different impacts on Iran’s oil sector. The Trump administration sought to drive Iranian oil exports to zero and deprive the regime of a vital source of revenue. The Biden administration, by contrast, in focusing on negotiations to revive the nuclear deal, eased the pressure from sanctions via lax enforcement.

At a press briefing on September 26, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price was asked three times whether the U.S.

As a final nuclear deal creeps into view, many analysts predict an immediate boost to the global oil supply as Iranian crude comes back online. Some analysts estimate that “Iran has about 150 to 200 million barrels of crude and condensate floating on the water” which would become available almost immediately.  Meanwhile, a draft agreement would purportedly see the U.S.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) reported a vast annual jump in oil revenues for the financial year ending March 2022.  Export revenues from oil, gas, and related by-products totaled $39 billion, compared to $22 billion for the previous year – a rise of 77% and an extra $17 billion. (Incidentally, the CBI’s figures are remarkably consistent with UANI’s own estimates based on our ship-tracking research.

In a welcome move on June 16, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned three major Iranian petrochemical producers, Marun Petrochemical, Kharg Petrochemical, and Fanavaran Petrochemical, for having supplied tens of millions of dollars’ worth of petrochemicals to the sanctioned Chinese company, Triliance.