Today, Tuesday, February 21 (2023), Tehran announced that it has raised the price of Iranian light crude oil, for next March shipments, to its customers in Asia, by 20 cents, similar to Saudi Arabia.
The National Oil Company has set the official selling price for Iranian light grade oil to Asian buyers at $2 a barrel, above the Oman/Dubai average, according to Reuters, citing an informed source.
On February 6, Saudi Aramco decided to raise the official selling prices for Arab Light crude to Asia by 20 US cents to two dollars per barrel, above the average prices of the Sultanate of Oman/Dubai, according to the pricing document seen by the specialized energy platform.
The increase in the price of a barrel of Iranian oil comes despite the decline in crude oil prices, as it ended last week with a loss that fell below $82 a barrel. However, it is slowly recovering, with hopes for a recovery in demand in China, according to what was seen by the specialized energy platform.
Iranian oil prices
Tehran raised the price of Iranian light crude oil, for March delivery, to $2 above the Oman/Dubai level, up 20 cents from the level of February delivery prices, which were $1.80 above the Oman/Dubai level, the same price Aramco sells for. Arab Light Crude to Asia.
It was also decided to raise the price of Iranian oil from “Forouzan” crude by 0.65 cents above the level of last month, to reach about 0.40, up from (-0.25) in February delivery, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
The following infographic, prepared by the specialized energy platform, shows the volume of Iranian oil production as estimated by monitoring companies:
And with the rise in the price of Iranian oil, there is controversy over the arrival of shipments to their destinations, especially to customers in Asia, as a recent report accused the UAE and other countries of helping Tehran deliver shipments, despite the sanctions imposed on it.
Saudi Aramco violated the expectations of experts and analysts who expected a decrease in the price of Saudi oil in Asia during the month of March, with the decline in oil premiums and the increase in concerns about increasing supplies, despite expectations of a recovery in demand in China, according to Reuters.
Saudi Aramco’s official prices for Saudi crude usually set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices. This affects about 9 million barrels per day of crude destined for Asia.
Iranian oil exports
Iranian oil exports have increased in recent months, supported by Tehran’s agreement to increase its shipments to several countries, such as China, which has concluded agreements with Iran to purchase more shipments.
For its part, Tanker Truckers, Kepler and Vortexa, which specialize in monitoring shipments, estimated that Iranian oil exports increased by about one million barrels per day, during the past 3 months, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
Although this increase is significant, it is much less than the volume of exports recorded at the beginning of 2018, which exceeded 2.4 million barrels per day, before the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal.
Iran seeks to increase its exports of crude oil during the current year 2023, within the framework of agreements and contracts announced by Oil Minister Javad Oji at the end of last year 2022.
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