Iran Remains OPEC’s Second-Largest Refiner Despite Sanctions

Data released by OPEC in its recent Annual Statistical Bulletin showed that Iran had a refining capacity of 2.237 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, accounting for 16% of the organization’s total capacity.

OPEC itself is responsible for 13.5% of the global oil refinery capacity, as it mostly includes oil-rich countries that rely on crude sales to customers in the developed world.

However, Iran has been a major exception in the group as it converts nearly 70% of its daily output to valuable products, earning more revenues in domestic and international markets.

OPEC data showed that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter with up to 12 million bpd of exports, had a refinery capacity of 3.291 million bpd last year.

The figures are another sign of resilience in the Iranian petroleum industry, as it has faced an unprecedented regime of US sanctions in recent years.

Iran has reported consistent rises in its oil production and exports since 2021, just two years after US President Donald Trump toughened its so-called maximum pressure campaign on Tehran during his first term in office and imposed heavy penalties on buyers of Iranian oil.

Estimates suggest Iran’s oil exports, which mostly go to private buyers in China, have well exceeded 2.4 million bpd in recent months.

A report by Bloomberg published earlier this month said that Iran had produced about 4.3 million bpd of crude oil plus 725,000 bpd of natural-gas liquids in 2024, reaching a 47-year-high production record.