Western sanctions drove Iran’s crude exports to the lowest in decades in May, reported Reuters.
Crude shipments dropped to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month, the data from the news agency showed, about a third of Iran’s oil exports before the current round of sanctions.
U.S. and European sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s purported nuclear plans is costing the country severely.
India, one of Iran’s biggest customers has drastically reduced imports; reports suggest that the Asian country is looking at Iraq to supplement for the lost crude.
Purchases by major Asian customers last month were about 12 percent down on April, industry sources said. Sales in April had already taken a hit after Japan, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, almost stopped Iranian imports entirely.
Oil is Iran’s main source of revenue. Diminished oil exports due to international sanctions cost Iran between $3 billion and $5 billion a month in lost revenue, suggest various data.  In the Middle East, Emirates National Oil Company
(ENOC) signed an annual contract with Qatar’s International  Petroleum Marketing Company (Tasweeq) to buy 20,000 barrels per day of condensate, the Emirati company said, as it aims to cut imports from Iran of extra light oil in late January.
Dubai government-owned ENOC was the biggest buyer of Iranian condensate in the Middle East in 2012, but purchases dropped in the second half of the year, as the company bowed to pressure from the U.S. to stop buying from Iran and find alternative sources.Â
However, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi says the US-engineered sanctions have not impacted the Islamic Republic’s crude oil production.
