December 16,2022
WRONG WAY — The 23 countries in the OPEC+ cartel voted to cut production by 2 million barrels a day as of November 1 in order to jack up prices, infuriating the Biden Administration. But the price of an OPEC barrel, after rising briefly, has now slid dramatically. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic continues making claims to have defeated sanctions completely.
President Raisi was quoted November 19 as saying oil exports were now back to pre-sanctions level of 2.5 million barrels a day, which no one believes. Three days later, Oil Minister Javad Oji said Iran was now exporting more crude, gas condensate and petrochemicals than at any time since President Trump reimposed sanctions in 2017. That may be true—but it doesn’t mean anything without some numbers on actual exports, which Oji did not provide.