The information was released by a representative of the Ministry of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in response to the proposal of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lift oil sanctions against Iran.
Almost no Iranian oil is on oil tankers at sea and there is no surplus to supply to the international market," Mehr news agency quoted a representative of the Iranian Ministry of Oil as saying.
Mr. Bessent's statement is only aimed at creating expectations for buyers and controlling market sentiment" - a representative of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum emphasized.
On March 20, the administration of President Donald Trump issued a 30-day sanction exemption order for Iranian oil that was at sea.
According to the Foreign Assets Control Office (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, this exemption applies to crude oil that was pumped onto ships before or during March 20 and unloaded before April 19.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Emmanuel Belostrino - senior manager of crude oil market data at Kpler, about 170 million barrels of Iranian crude oil are offshore, located on ships distributed from the Middle East Bay to waters near China.
Consulting firm Energy Aspects on March 19 estimated the amount of Iranian oil at sea at about 130-140 million barrels.
Asia depends on about 60% of crude oil supplies from the Middle East, and the near-closed Hormuz Strait this month is forcing oil refineries in the region to reduce capacity and cut fuel exports.
Since President Donald Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 related to the country's nuclear program, China has become Iran's largest customer, with independent oil refineries buying about 1.38 million barrels/day last year, according to Kpler data, thanks to a sharp drop in prices as many countries avoided buying due to sanctions.
In the context of Washington temporarily lifting sanctions to reduce the energy shortage caused by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, Indian oil refineries are expected to resume purchasing Iranian oil, while other oil refineries in Asia are also considering similar moves.
Three sources from Indian oil refineries shared on March 21 that they would buy Iranian oil and are awaiting instructions from the government as well as specific guidance from Washington on issues such as payment terms.
Oil refineries in India, a country with much lower crude oil reserves than other major importers in Asia, quickly ordered oil from Russia after the US eased sanctions recently.
Some other oil refineries in the region are also assessing the possibility of buying Iranian oil, according to many sources familiar with the matter.
Traders say that buying Iranian oil still faces many obstacles, including uncertainty about payment methods and the fact that most of the oil is on oil tankers of the shadow fleet.
In addition, since the US re-imposed sanctions at the end of 2018, most of Iranian oil has been sold through intermediaries.
Everything related to compliance, administrative procedures, banking... is often time-consuming, but I think the parties will try to implement it as soon as possible," said a trader in Singapore.
In addition to China, major customers who bought Iranian oil before being re-sanctioned include India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan (China) and Turkey.
