US Blockade Pushes Iranian Oil Stocks to the Brink

The US naval blockade of Iranian oil exports has severely impacted Tehran's economy. According to a report by Kpler, no new Iranian crude has crossed the blockade line since its reinstatement in mid-July. The country is now relying on dwindling offshore stockpiles that are expected to run dry soon.

The floating stockpiles of oil left before the blockade tightened have fallen sharply from about 90 million barrels in mid-July to around 29 million today. Kpler estimates that deliveries of approximately 1 million barrels a day, mostly to China, could exhaust the remaining oil by mid-October.

Iran loaded just 255,000 barrels a day onto vessels inside the Gulf in August, which is 85% below the February-April average. The loss of this primary foreign-currency earner is intensifying pressure on Iran's already battered economy.