US blockade cuts Iranian crude exports to zero in October - report

Iranian crude exports fell to zero in October as a US blockade halted all shipments, according to energy intelligence platform Vortexa. The country's seaborne crude exports dropped to zero in the second week of September from a 14-day average of 230,000 barrels per day at the start of that month and remained at that level as of October 5.

Iranian crude held in tankers on the water has declined to 83 million barrels, with 43 million barrels trapped west of the Strait of Hormuz because of the US blockade.

"The blockade is doing what years of sanctions never managed: it has physically stopped Iranian crude from leaving the Gulf," said Claire Jungman, Vortexa's director of maritime risk and intelligence.

Jungman said China no longer needs Iranian barrels as urgently because Russian crude has filled the gap.

Iran's liquefied petroleum gas exports also dropped 48% month-on-month to their lowest level since at least January 2023, Vortexa said.

Oil flows from the Gulf excluding Iran rose to over 81% of pre-war levels in September, driven by a recovery in Saudi exports.

With the decline in Iranian exports, Russian crude now represents 80% of what Vortexa describes as "high-risk exports" from Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Combined exports from the three countries reached 4.73 million barrels per day in September, down from 6.39 million barrels per day in the same month last year.

Russian exports, excluding Caspian Pipeline Consortium and KEBCO crude, increased 6% month-on-month to 3.79 million barrels per day, according to the report.