Latest news with #KhargIsland
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Satellite Images Show Iran Racing to Get Its Oil Out
(Bloomberg) -- Iran is racing to get its oil out into the world, a sign of the unusual logistical steps that Tehran is undertaking as the US mulls joining Israel in bombing the Persian Gulf state. Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities' JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown How E-Scooters Conquered (Most of) Europe NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports Oil is gushing out of the nation's ports and onto ocean-tankers, ensuring revenues would continue — at least for a while — if shipments are disrupted. Despite the surge, storage tanks at the nation's critical export terminal at Kharg Island are brimming with crude. Traders and investors are parsing every piece of data available to understand how oil from the Islamic Republic and the wider Gulf region will be affected as Israel pounds the country's nuclear sites, military and wider energy infrastructure. Satellite data offer at least part of the answer when it comes to Iran. Storage Tanks The oil storage sites at Kharg Island have floating roofs that rise and fall as they empty and fill, meaning it's possible to get clues from above as to just how much they're holding by examining their shadows. And what images from June 11 show is that, for almost all of the large tanks, the roofs were well below the top of the walls. In short, the reservoirs were only partly full. Fast forward by a week, and a photo from June 18, several days after Israel began its attacks, shows there are no such shadows, indicating that the roofs are now at the top of the walls and the reservoirs are brimming. There are still shadows cast by the tanks onto the ground beside them, confirming that the absence isn't due to a lack of sunshine. The images were taken less than 10 minutes apart at about 2:40 pm local time on their respective days with nearly the same sensor geometry. Samir Madani, co-founder of a firm that specializes in monitoring the clandestine oil trade of Iran and other nations using satellite imagery, confirmed that he also saw ' a rise in crude inventories at the island.' That's not what you'd expect, given that Iran has been driving up its exports. If the exports are well above normal, then storage tanks should be emptying — unless Iran is also directing even more crude into the facility. The inference, then, is that Iran is sending as much as possible to the global market while it can. Iran can store about 28 million barrels of crude at Kharg, according to a 2024 report from S&P Global Commodity Insights. Refurbishment of two 1 million barrel tanks was completed last month, but it's unclear whether they were included in the earlier capacity figure. Export Flows Iran's oil exports have spiked since the nation came under attack from Israel on Friday, according to Madani. It exported an average of 2.33 million barrels a day in the five days the attacks began June 13, according to data from That's an increase of 44% compared with the average for the year through to June 14. 'It seems very clear what they're doing,' Madani said of Iran's approach. 'They're trying to get out as many barrels they can but with safety as their number one priority.' Oil is held in closely packed storage tanks at Kharg, making it more vulnerable to attack than cargoes on ships dotted around the Persian Gulf or heading for China. Dispersed Tankers In another sign of Tehran's logistical response, vessels are staying far away from Kharg until the last possible moment before dashing to the terminal to load and spending as little time as possible at the terminal. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs from June 11, a few days before the first Israeli attack, shows tankers, most of them very large crude carriers, each able to hold about 2 million barrels, anchored in the sheltered waters between Kharg Island and the Iranian mainland. Comparison with earlier images shows this to be well within the normal range for the number of ships anchored there. In a second image, taken on June 17, four days after the first missiles hit Iran, all of the vessels have dispersed, leaving none at the anchorage sites near the island. The photos above show only the core area of the anchorage for visual clarity. They do not include tankers anchored further from the island. Iran adopted a similar strategy of dispersing waiting tankers when it previously came under Israeli attack in October. Then, too, it kept exports running without interruption. Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
13 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Satellite Images Show Iran Racing to Get Its Oil Out
Iran is racing to get its oil out into the world, a sign of the unusual logistical steps that Tehran is undertaking as the US mulls joining Israel in bombing the Persian Gulf state. Oil is gushing out of the nation's ports and onto ocean-tankers, ensuring revenues would continue — at least for a while — if shipments are disrupted. Despite the surge, storage tanks at the nation's critical export terminal at Kharg Island are brimming with crude.
Zawya
14 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Iran adapts to maintain oil exports during conflict, trackers say
Iran is maintaining crude oil supply by loading tankers one at a time and moving floating oil storage much closer to China, two vessel tracking firms told Reuters, as the country seeks to keep a key source of revenue while under attack from Israel. The conflict between Iran and Israel which broke out last week poses a fresh hurdle for Iran, which uses a shadow fleet of tankers to conceal their origin and skirt U.S. sanctions reinstated in 2018 over its nuclear programme. Crude exports from Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, mainly head to China. Loadings have so far been largely unaffected by the conflict with Israel, the trackers said. Iran has loaded 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil so far this week, marking a five-week high, the latest data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Energy infrastructure in both countries has been targeted in missile exchanges between the two countries, including the Haifa oil refinery in Israel and Iran's South Pars gas field, though Iran's major crude exporting facility at Kharg island has so far been spared. All of the loadings from Kharg Island this week took place from the site's eastern jetty, said Homayoun Falakshai, head of crude oil analysis at tracking firm Kpler. Kharg Island is situated deep inside the Persian Gulf, some 30 km off the Middle Eastern nation's south west coast. "NIOC may believe it is less risky than the other main jetty located on the western side, in open waters," Falakshai said, referring to Iran's state oil firm National Iranian Oil Co. Large oil tankers are now approaching Kharg Island one at a time, leaving the second jetty on the western side of the island unused for several days, with 15-16 more Iranian tankers scattered across the wider Persian Gulf area. Iranian oil exports have been steady so far this year at around 1.7 million bpd, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, despite U.S. sanctions on Chinese customers since March. Iran has moved part of its 40 million barrel floating storage fleet, which sits on 36 different vessels, much closer to China to minimise the impact of any disrupions on buyers, ship tracking firm Vortexa told Reuters. Around ten tankers, carrying approximately 8 million barrels of Iranian crude, are now stationed directly offshore China, Vortexa said, moving from the Singapore area where a further 20 million barrels are located. The remaining 12 or so million barrels were in the Persian Gulf at the start of the month, Vortexa added, but their current location was not clear. Having floating storage allows tankers to load crude oil without an immediate fixed destination to head to. "Iran has been moving these barrels eastwards even without firm orders to strategically place the barrels closer to the end buyers in a time of heightened geopolitical risk," Vortexa's senior China market analyst Emma Li said Moving barrels closer to China would offset the impact of up to two weeks of disrupted Iranian loadings, Vortexa added. (Reporting by Robert Harvey, editing by Alex Lawler, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Elaine Hardcastle)
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Iran adapts to maintain oil exports during conflict, trackers say
By Robert Harvey LONDON (Reuters) -Iran is maintaining crude oil supply by loading tankers one at a time and moving floating oil storage much closer to China, two vessel tracking firms told Reuters, as the country seeks to keep a key source of revenue while under attack from Israel. The conflict between Iran and Israel which broke out last week poses a fresh hurdle for Iran, which uses a shadow fleet of tankers to conceal their origin and skirt U.S. sanctions reinstated in 2018 over its nuclear programme. Crude exports from Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, mainly head to China. Loadings have so far been largely unaffected by the conflict with Israel, the trackers said. Iran has loaded 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil so far this week, marking a five-week high, the latest data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Energy infrastructure in both countries has been targeted in missile exchanges between the two countries, including the Haifa oil refinery in Israel and Iran's South Pars gas field, though Iran's major crude exporting facility at Kharg island has so far been spared. All of the loadings from Kharg Island this week took place from the site's eastern jetty, said Homayoun Falakshai, head of crude oil analysis at tracking firm Kpler. Kharg Island is situated deep inside the Persian Gulf, some 30 km off the Middle Eastern nation's south west coast. "NIOC may believe it is less risky than the other main jetty located on the western side, in open waters," Falakshai said, referring to Iran's state oil firm National Iranian Oil Co. Large oil tankers are now approaching Kharg Island one at a time, leaving the second jetty on the western side of the island unused for several days, with 15-16 more Iranian tankers scattered across the wider Persian Gulf area. Iranian oil exports have been steady so far this year at around 1.7 million bpd, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, despite U.S. sanctions on Chinese customers since March. Iran has moved part of its 40 million barrel floating storage fleet, which sits on 36 different vessels, much closer to China to minimise the impact of any disrupions on buyers, ship tracking firm Vortexa told Reuters. Around ten tankers, carrying approximately 8 million barrels of Iranian crude, are now stationed directly offshore China, Vortexa said, moving from the Singapore area where a further 20 million barrels are located. The remaining 12 or so million barrels were in the Persian Gulf at the start of the month, Vortexa added, but their current location was not clear. Having floating storage allows tankers to load crude oil without an immediate fixed destination to head to. "Iran has been moving these barrels eastwards even without firm orders to strategically place the barrels closer to the end buyers in a time of heightened geopolitical risk," Vortexa's senior China market analyst Emma Li said Moving barrels closer to China would offset the impact of up to two weeks of disrupted Iranian loadings, Vortexa added. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Iran adapts to maintain oil exports during conflict, trackers say
LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Iran is maintaining crude oil supply by loading tankers one at a time and moving floating oil storage much closer to China, two vessel tracking firms told Reuters, as the country seeks to keep a key source of revenue while under attack from Israel. The conflict between Iran and Israel which broke out last week poses a fresh hurdle for Iran, which uses a shadow fleet of tankers to conceal their origin and skirt U.S. sanctions reinstated in 2018 over its nuclear programme. Crude exports from Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, mainly head to China. Loadings have so far been largely unaffected by the conflict with Israel, the trackers said. Iran has loaded 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil so far this week, marking a five-week high, the latest data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Energy infrastructure in both countries has been targeted in missile exchanges between the two countries, including the Haifa oil refinery in Israel and Iran's South Pars gas field, though Iran's major crude exporting facility at Kharg island has so far been spared. All of the loadings from Kharg Island this week took place from the site's eastern jetty, said Homayoun Falakshai, head of crude oil analysis at tracking firm Kpler. Kharg Island is situated deep inside the Persian Gulf, some 30 km off the Middle Eastern nation's south west coast. "NIOC may believe it is less risky than the other main jetty located on the western side, in open waters," Falakshai said, referring to Iran's state oil firm National Iranian Oil Co. Large oil tankers are now approaching Kharg Island one at a time, leaving the second jetty on the western side of the island unused for several days, with 15-16 more Iranian tankers scattered across the wider Persian Gulf area. Iranian oil exports have been steady so far this year at around 1.7 million bpd, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, despite U.S. sanctions on Chinese customers since March. Iran has moved part of its 40 million barrel floating storage fleet, which sits on 36 different vessels, much closer to China to minimise the impact of any disrupions on buyers, ship tracking firm Vortexa told Reuters. Around ten tankers, carrying approximately 8 million barrels of Iranian crude, are now stationed directly offshore China, Vortexa said, moving from the Singapore area where a further 20 million barrels are located. The remaining 12 or so million barrels were in the Persian Gulf at the start of the month, Vortexa added, but their current location was not clear. Having floating storage allows tankers to load crude oil without an immediate fixed destination to head to. "Iran has been moving these barrels eastwards even without firm orders to strategically place the barrels closer to the end buyers in a time of heightened geopolitical risk," Vortexa's senior China market analyst Emma Li said Moving barrels closer to China would offset the impact of up to two weeks of disrupted Iranian loadings, Vortexa added.
