Key insights
- Iran is shifting its oil sales strategy by cutting out intermediaries due to security concerns and US sanctions. This could lead to increased direct sales to countries like China and India, potentially impacting global oil supply and prices. The US equity market may see a slight negative impact as higher oil supply could put downward pressure on energy sector profits.
Investing.com -- Iran has abandoned intermediaries it used for decades to sell its oil after several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials who run shadow fleet operations were killed, according to Iranian state media.
IRNA and the Tehran Times reported that the National Iranian oil company would resume sole authority of marketing Iranian crude.
The previous system relied on a network of trustees, including oil traders in Russia and Dubai with direct links to senior IRGC officials whose job was to circumvent American and EU sanctions in order to maintain revenue flows to the Iranian regime.
Malaysian refinery officials told The Wall Street Journal they had lost contact with two IRGC officials who previously arranged ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian crude near the Strait of Malacca.
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has stopped Iran-controlled or dark-fleet tankers moving Iranian oil to importers mainly China and India.
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