Global buyers are scheduled to lift 1.94 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in March, down 21 percent from the previous month, said a person with knowledge of the country’s tanker loading schedule, Reuters reported.
That is the lowest since March 2016.
Compared to a year ago, March liftings from Iran, the third-biggest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), will be down 26 percent.
Iranian exports in March are set to fall below year-ago levels for the third month in a row.
Exports to its main markets in Asia are set to total 1.12 million bpd this month, down by one-third from February and the lowest since November 2015, the report added.
Japan, Asia’s fourth-biggest buyer of Iranian oil, will not lift any oil this month, the first time since March 2016, the source said amid uncertainty over whether sovereign insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil would be extended beyond March.