Iran Oil Production, Exports and Sanctions

Production and reserves

Iran holds the world's third-largest proven oil reserves, 208.6 billion barrels at the end of 2024 according to OPEC, about 12% of the global total. Output is held back by sanctions, not geology. OPEC's secondary sources put Iranian crude production at 2.88 million b/d in 2023 and 3.26 million b/d in 2024, the highest since US sanctions were reimposed in 2018. It was about 3.24 million b/d in February 2026, roughly half of it refined at home. Iran is an OPEC member but is exempt from OPEC+ quotas because sanctions already limit its output.

Sanctions history

• 2012: the EU banned imports of Iranian crude and the US tightened financial sanctions. Exports roughly halved.
• 2015–2016: the nuclear deal (JCPOA) was agreed in July 2015 and implemented in January 2016, lifting oil sanctions. Exports recovered quickly.
• 2018: the US withdrew from the deal in May and reimposed oil sanctions in November. Most buyers except China stopped purchases.
• February 2025: a presidential memorandum (NSPM-2) restored "maximum pressure", targeting tankers and Chinese buyers.
• June 2025: a 12-day war between Israel and Iran briefly lifted prices, but oil flows were not disrupted.
• 2026: war from 28 February, a US naval blockade of Iranian ports from 13 April and, in August, what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called "the toughest sanctions in history".

Exports, Kharg Island and China

Kharg Island in the northern Gulf handles about 90% of Iran's crude exports and has about 30 million barrels of storage. Since 2019 almost all exports have gone to China, mostly to independent "teapot" refiners in Shandong. Cargoes often move through ship-to-ship transfers off Malaysia and arrive in Chinese customs data labelled as Malaysian crude. Kpler estimated Iranian crude and condensate shipments to China at about 1.38 million b/d in 2025, down about 7% from 2024. See our China oil imports page for the buyer side.

Exports surged just before the war. Kpler data show about 2.17 million b/d in February 2026, as Iran moved oil out of storage ahead of possible strikes.

Iranian oil in the 2026 war

After the strikes of 28 February, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping. On 13 March US forces struck military targets on Kharg Island but avoided its oil facilities. Iranian exports continued at about 1.1–1.5 million b/d in March, and Iran began charging some ships transit fees of up to $2 million per voyage for safe passage, Bloomberg reported.

The US naval blockade of Iranian ports took effect on 13 April 2026 after talks in Islamabad failed. Vortexa recorded an 80%-plus drop in departures from the Gulf of Oman in the following two weeks, and US Central Command said 41 tankers holding 69 million barrels could not sell their cargo. A ceasefire in April and talks in May and June briefly raised hopes of a deal; Brent fell to about $74 by late June. Fighting resumed in July, and Vortexa data show the blockade has effectively halted Iranian crude exports since mid-July, with August loadings of about 210,000 b/d.

In October 2026 Iran said the strait would stay closed until its conditions for ending the war were met, and attacks on tankers rose to a wartime high. At least 12 attacks were reported between 28 September and 5 October, according to Reuters.

How Iranian supply risk moves Brent

Iran's own exports matter less to prices than its ability to disrupt its neighbours. Before the war, roughly a fifth of global oil consumption passed through Hormuz. In 2026 the threat became real: Brent rose from about $72 before the strikes to a peak near $126 intraday on 30 April, and traded around $100–106 in October. The risk premium changes with every headline on talks, attacks and tanker transits. Follow the live Brent crude oil price and the daily oil price news.

Oil and Iran's economy

The IMF put Iran's fiscal break-even oil price at about $122 per barrel in 2024 and projected about $124 for 2025, the highest among large Gulf producers. Heavy discounts on sanctioned barrels sold to China already cut revenue before 2026. The blockade has removed most export income, leaving Iran dependent on domestic refining and small volumes of products moved by sea.