By LONDON — Iran has diversified its oil export markets by sending small shipments of crude oil to new destinations, including Bangladesh and Oman, according to shipping sources and data. This move underscores Tehran’s efforts to maintain high oil production levels, close to their highest in five years.
In July, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji reported that Iran was exporting crude oil to 17 countries, including several in Europe, as noted by the semi-official Mehr News Agency. However, these details have not been independently verified.
One significant development involved the Golden Eagle tanker, which docked near the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh earlier this year. The vessel received oil from another ship that had loaded it at Iran’s Kharg Island. According to Claire Jungman from the U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), the Golden Eagle offloaded parts of its cargo to smaller tankers in Chittagong in April. This shipment to Bangladesh was corroborated by an additional oil export tracking source.
A representative from the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, which manages the country’s main refinery, indicated that they did not purchase this cargo and finding the actual buyer has proven challenging.
In addition, at least eight oil cargoes, primarily from Iran, have been en route to Syria, with some already unloaded, as reported by shipping sources. Furthermore, a separate tanker delivered a cargo of crude oil, believed to be Iranian, to the Omani port of Sohar in June. This shipment was transferred from another vessel that had collected the oil from Iran’s Kharg Island earlier this year, according to UANI’s Jungman and shipping data.
