Iran sends out ghost tankers as US oil sanctions loom | Financial Times

Iran sends out ghost tankers as US oil sanctions loom | Financial Times:

A supertanker called Happiness is carrying 2m barrels of trouble for Iran. The crude vessel filled up at a terminal operated by Iran’s national oil company on Kharg Island at the start of this month, before setting off on a journey for Asia, according to ship tracking data. But it was sailing into a global market where Iranian oil is acquiring pariah status.

When Happiness I — its official name — exited the Strait of Hormuz the tanker turned off the system that allows traders to track its movements. As the US prepares to reimpose sanctions on Tehran’s energy sector in November, the vessel joins a fleet of ghost ships that symbolises the pressure growing on Iran to hide the identity of its buyers.

Following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers, he is seeking to cripple the Iranian economy with sanctions that impose severe financial penalties on any party involved in trading its crude.

OPEC and allies struggle to pump more oil as Iran supply falls | Reuters

OPEC and allies struggle to pump more oil as Iran supply falls | Reuters:

OPEC and its allies reduced oil output in August as a drop in Iranian supply due to U.S. sanctions derailed their attempts to raise production to agreed levels, delegates said on Saturday as the energy producers prepared to hold talks in Algiers.

The development further raises pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost supply amid calls from U.S. President Donald Trump to lower oil prices.

On Friday, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters OPEC and its allies led by Russia were considering the possibility of raising crude supplies by a further 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) as U.S. sanctions on OPEC’s third-largest producer, Iran, bite into Tehran’s exports.