Baku, Azerbaijan, Jun. 1
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Crude oil sales, which had been halted due to maintenance operations at Tabriz Oil Refinery, were resumed at Iran's energy bourse today.
Tabriz Oil Refinery is the delivery point of crude oil to the energy bourse, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on June 1.
Crude oil sales had been halted on May 19. The first crude oil consignment was sold at the energy bourse on April 6.
A number of refineries operated by the private sector bought the crude oil consignment.
Iran's crude oil exports increased in May after a decline in April, according to sources who track tanker movements, moving above the level allowed by November's interim deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear programme, Reuters reported.
The increase, which appears to be led by higher sales to China in particular, could revive concerns in Washington that a softening of sanctions has given Tehran's economy a bigger boost than planned.
Iran's exports have averaged 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, one of the sources said. That represents an increase from 1.1 million bpd in April, as estimated by the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
Under the Geneva nuclear deal, Iran's exports are supposed to be held at an average one million bpd for the six months to July 20. But shipments to Asia have topped that level at least since November, according to ship tracking data.