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Secret Oil Shipments Could Help Iran Cushion U.S. Sanctions Blow

  • Discounts, smuggling among tactics to thwart sanctions
  • Country could ship 800,000 barrels a day in mid-2019: FGE
Crude Oil Shipments In The Persian Gulf
Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg

Discounts, bartering and smuggling are among the tactics Iran may lean on to keep almost 800,000 barrels a day of its oil exports flowing after U.S. sanctions resume in November.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh alluded to this toolbox, which was used in the past, when he said Iran will find “other ways” to keep its crude in the market. The measures won’t be enough to blunt the full impact of sanctions on oil exports, which have already slumped to the lowest level since March 2016.