By Dalga Khatinoglu
The latest statistics released by the Central Bank of Iran on Jan.18 indicate that the country's total exports stood at $48.728 billion during fist half of current fiscal year, about $4.4 billion more than the same period in last year.
Iran's fiscal year starts on March 21.
The figures say about $33.6 billion of the mentioned figure includes exporting gas, gas condensate, crude oil, petroleum products, LPG and NGLs, and indicates a $3.27 billion increase totally.
The Central Bank of Iran didn't mention the details of oil and gas-related statistics, but with comparing the Iran Custom Administration's reports, the exact value of Iran's crude oil export is extractable.
Iran's customs reports include the statistics of gas condensate, LPG and NGLs' exports.
According to the custom's statistics, Iran exported about $1 billion worth propane, $730 million butane and $6.5 billion condensate, totally $8.23 billion during fist half of current fiscal year, indicates $3.25 billion increase compared to the same period in last year.
However, regarding the fact that the oil price had fallen from $107/barrel in the beginning of summer to about $96/barrel in mid-August, alongside its affect on oil and gas-related products' price, then Iran's crude oil specifically has increased during first half of current fiscal year in volume.
The international organizations' statistics says that Iran's crude oil export increased by about 100,000 barrels per day to 1.1 mb/d in 2014.
The country's total NGLs export was less than $400 million during last year and it doesn't seem to have experienced any change in average during the first six months of current year. Iran also announced last month that the country's total gas exports has increased by one billion cubic meters during first 9 months of year, then the increase of natural gas export was very little.
Petroleum products seems soared
Iran's Finance Minister Ali Tayyebnia announced earlier that Iran exported its crude oil at $105/barrel during the first six months of current fiscal year, approximately as much as OPEC's oil basket price.
The OPEC basket price indicates less than $a 4/barrel decrease in value in second half of 2014, compared to 2013.
With subtraction of total oil and gas- related exports revenues from gas condensate, natural gas (Iran exports about $4 of gas annually), NGLs and LPG, the country's total crude oil and petroleum products exports reached about $23 billion in the first half of the year. With regards to export of 1.1 mb/d of oil at $105/barrel, the country's total crude oil exports was $19.4 billion in first half of year and the remained value (about $3.5 billion) belongs to exporting the petroleum products.
Iran has decreased consumption of diesel and fuel oil during the first nine months of the current fiscal year by 6.5 billion liters, mostly in spring and summer due to increasing natural gas supplying to power plants by above 10 billion cubic meters. Then it seems Iran has had the potential to make at least $3 billion worth of extra petroleum revenues during first six months of current fiscal year.
Edited by CN
Dalga Khatinoglu is an expert on Iran's energy sector, head of Trend Agency's Iran news service
Follow him on @dalgakhatinoglu