Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Iran, facing Western sanctions and attack threats, has been
quietly storing millions of barrels of crude oil in the Gulf.

Industry sources said the Teheran regime, which oversees production of 3.5 million barrels per day, was preparing for an international embargo on fuel exports to Iran.

They said the Iranian Oil Ministry has overseen the storage of up to eight million barrels of oil in tankers in the Gulf, Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

“Iran is using very large oil tankers for storage,” an industry source said.

The sources said the storage, which in 2010 reached 40 million barrels, was necessary to avoid hampering oil production facilities amid an embargo.

So far, the European Union and the United States have been working to halt imports of Iranian oil.

  European Union, Gulf of Oman, Indian Ocean, Iranian Oil Ministry, oil embargo, Sea of Oman, Showdown: Iran stockpiling oil by the millions of barrels in tankers