New Delhi: Iran’s oil production and exports are currently going through their worst phase. The US’s strict naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has crippled Tehran. Iran now has no storage space for its oil. To address this crisis, Iran has re-launched its 30-year-old, decommissioned, giant tanker, the Nasha, to be used as a storage facility.
Kharg Island Crisis:
90% of Iran’s oil is extracted and exported from Kharg Island. It has the capacity to store approximately 30 million barrels of oil. However, due to the US blockade, Iran is unable to export its oil. According to reports, only 13 million barrels of oil are left. At the rate at which Iran is extracting oil, all its storage will be full within the next 12 to 13 days. After this, Iran will not have space to store even a single drop of oil.
What will happen if the wells are shut down?
The common question is, if exports aren’t happening, why doesn’t Iran just stop oil production? Oil wells aren’t like water taps that can be turned off at will.
Experts say that if Iran suddenly halts production, the pressure inside the wells will deteriorate. This could cause underground water to penetrate the oil-bearing rocks, leaving billions of dollars worth of oil trapped underground forever. This means that closing the wells would permanently destroy the wealth of Iran’s future generations.
“Nasha” becomes last resort
To avoid this “deadlock,” Iran has revived its old tanker, “Nasha.” This ship had been empty and idle for years, but now it is being filled with crude oil and placed at sea. It will serve as a crude oil storage facility for Iran. However, this is only a temporary arrangement. If the US does not lift its blockade, Iran will either have to risk its wells or its economy will collapse completely.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already warned that Iran is nearing the end of its storage capacity. The blockade is no longer just a military action, but has become a strategy to “economically strangle” Iran .
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