EIA: Iran’s oil earning reaches $59bn

Crude export of Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, has stood at around $59 billion in the first 10 months of 2010, official US data show.

The figures released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Sunday that the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) exported nearly around $613 billion from January to October.

The report added that OPEC’s crude export earnings increased by nearly $161 billion during this period.

OPEC, which pumps just under 40 percent of the global crude supply, earned around $452 billion in the first 10 months of 2009, the EIA said.

“The 10-month income this year is already way above the total 2009 earnings of nearly $571 billion and they could swell to about $748 billion by the end of this year, nearly $177 billion above the 2009 income,” the report added.

The oil earning of “Iran, the second largest earner in OPEC, stood at nearly $59 billion against $43 billion in the same period,” the EIA’s figures showed.

The EIA of the US Department of Energy also predicted average oil prices of $75 for this year compared with nearly $60 in 2009.

“Crude prices could swell above $80 in 2011 because of stronger demand on the back of global economic recovery and this is expected to boost OPEC’s income to $840 billion,” according to the EIA.

Iran’s revenue from oil exports reached $69.1 billion in 2009 by exporting approximately 3.8 million barrels per day.