OPEC Data Highlights Iran’s Vulnerability to Oil Sanctions
Wall Street Journal / James Herron
17-Jul-2012

Iran’s leaders have repeatedly claimed that sanctions against its oil exports, aimed at pressuring it over its nuclear program, will harm the West more than they harm the Islamic Republic.

Data published by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries late Monday show how hollow that claim may be.

Iran exported 741,000 barrels a day of oil, around a third of its total, to Europe in 2011, according to OPEC data. All members of the European Union have agreed to completely forgo Iranian oil and Turkey has agreed to cut its imports by around 20%.

Many customers in Asia, where Iran sold 60% of its oil in 2011, have also agreed to cut their purchases by 15% to 20%.

Consultancy Petrologistics estimates that Iran will only export just over a million barrels a day of oil in July, the first full month of sanctions. That is less than half the oil it shipped last year.

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