An Iranian official says the country’s oil revenues have increased by more than 60% in the two months to late May compared to the similar period last year.
Ali Forouzandeh, who serves as spokesman of the Iranian Oil Ministry, said on Sunday that oil revenues had experienced a “dazzling jump” in the first two months of the current calendar year.
Forouzandeh cited as an example a surge in Iran’s sales of petrochemicals in international markets in recent months and said that exports proceeds reported in a foreign exchange system run by the government had exceeded $2.45 billion, up from $1.5 billion reported for the two months to late May 2021.
The comments come amid reports suggesting that Iran’s supply of crude oil and other petroleum products to China have declined significantly following a war in Ukraine that caused sanctions on Russia and pushed Moscow to offer shipments at heavy discounts to Chinese buyers.
Iranian authorities have rejected the reports and insist that Iran has continued to supply private Chinese refiners with huge volumes of crude.
Iranian crude exports to China increased to an average of more than 1 million barrels per day in late 2021, a first for the country since 2018 when the United States pulled out of an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and imposed sanctions on the country.
An Iranian administrative government that took office in August has claimed credit for the surge, saying it has introduced policies to get round the American sanctions and increase Iranian oil supply to international markets.