Iran is ramping up oil exports and benefiting from a rise in oil prices as its main buyer, China, pulls back on its purchases of Russian oil due to the war with Ukraine.
Iran oil exports—which go almost exclusively to China apart from rare deliveries to Syria and Venezuela—rose to 870,000 barrels a day in the first three months of the year, an increase of about 30%.
Iran’s growing exports illustrate how the invasion of Ukraine is redrawing the world’s energy trade routes, as energy consumers look for alternatives to Russian oil and gas to avoid Western sanctions.
