Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, falling well below 300,000 barrels per day, mainly due to the U.S. naval blockade, according to shipping data and analysts. The U.S. began enforcing the blockade on April 13, choking Iranian exports as the oil market faces a supply crunch due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz cutting exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s exports averaged about 209,000 bpd in May, Vortexa data shows, down sharply from 1.34 million bpd in April and nearly 1.9 million bpd in March.
This marks their lowest level since late 2019 and early 2020, when U.S. President Donald Trump was pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in his first term, Vortexa said.
Iranian officials in New York did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
“The key drivers appear to be the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. naval blockade targeting vessels entering or departing Iranian ports, and the broader unwillingness of owners, operators, insurers, and counterparties to expose vessels and crews to the current security environment,” said Vortexa analyst Claire Jungman.
Data from another firm, Kpler, showed a similar decline, although it pegged May exports slightly higher at 260,000 bpd — still a six-year low.
IRANIAN OIL IN FLOATING STORAGE FALLS
The volume of Iranian oil being stored on ships has been falling as more tankers discharge in China, Kpler data shows.
Of roughly 147 million barrels of Iranian crude and condensate floating in storage, about 67 million barrels are stranded inside the Mideast Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Kpler said.
Floating storage volumes have fallen from a recent high of about 190 million barrels in late April.
Iman Nasseri, an analyst at FGE NexantECA, estimated about 55 million barrels of Iranian crude is floating on ships behind the blockade line, less than the Kpler figure.
If the blockade persists for another two months, Iran could effectively run out of oil available to ship to China, its top buyer, Kpler analyst Homayoun Falakshahi said.
China’s imports of Iranian crude fell to 1.10 million bpd in May, the lowest since January 2025, according to Kpler.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, editing by Alex Lawler and Alexander Smith)