Iran Boosts Kharg Island's Oil Export Capacity
Iran has increased its crude exports capacity at its main terminal on Kharg Island to allow eight tankers to load simultaneously, the oil ministry's news agency Shana reported on Monday.
Following upgrades to infrastructure over the past two years eight tankers can berth at the terminal's eastern harbor, with one more vessel able to load ship-to-ship cargo at the same time, Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC) Managing Director Saeid Pirouz Mousavi said.
There is a storage capacity for 30 million barrels of oil on Kharg Island, which lies near the Strait of Hormuz, Shana reported. Iran has prepared its oil terminals for 6 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports following the removal of international sanctions in January, Shana said.
Tehran's oil sales have nearly doubled since December, and the country is regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected since sanctions were lifted in January, helped by securing more tankers through a temporary shipping insurance fix.
June loadings of crude and condensate are up by around 100,000 bpd from last month to 2.31 million bpd in June, according to a source with knowledge of the country's crude lifting plans.
(Reporting by Rania El Gamal)
