An Iranian oil tanker, similar to the many others where Iranian resources are stored offshore. (Credit: Johnny Bugeja/AFP)
As the third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program between the United States and Iran begins Thursday in Geneva amid fears of war, satellite imagery from energy monitoring firm Kpler shows that average weekly loadings of Iranian crude oil and gas condensate for export have nearly tripled, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Shipments reached 27 million barrels last week, or about 3.8 million barrels per day, compared with a recent weekly average of 10 million barrels.
The newspaper reported that average daily loadings in February rose to 2.3 million barrels, about 50 percent higher than the 1.54 million-barrel daily average over the previous three months. If sustained, that pace would mark the highest monthly loading rate since 2018, before international sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear program were reimposed.
GPS interference
The surge in exports appears driven by market anticipation of a possible U.S. military strike on Iran. Washington has increased its military presence in the Middle East, while Tehran has the capacity to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of global liquefied natural gas shipments, WSJ reported.
Kpler also observed increased GPS signal interference near the Assaluyeh petrochemical complex, a key export hub, making it more difficult to track shipments. Much of the loading activity has taken place without standard tracking signals.
Oil prices were trading around $71 per barrel on Wednesday, up from about $60 in January before tensions escalated. During the 12-day war between Israel and the United States and Iran in June 2025, prices hovered near $72 per barrel.
China remains the main buyer of Iranian oil, importing nearly 80 percent of exports, or about 1.2 million barrels per day since early 2026, WSJ added. The two countries signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement in 2021 that includes $400 billion in planned Chinese investment in Iran.
U.S. and European sanctions targeting countries that trade with Iran have slowed exports, including to China, whose purchases are down 14 percent from 2025 levels. Meanwhile, floating storage off Iran’s coast has surged. Kpler estimates nearly 200 million barrels are currently held in offshore storage — a record level.
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