WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The United States has removednearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global marketsdaily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctionson all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State MikePompeo said on Tuesday.
In an interview with MSNBC, Pompeo said the U.S. governmentwas confident it could continue with its strategy.
The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in Novemberafter pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran andsix world powers. In May, Washington ended sanction waiversgiven to importers of Iranian oil, aiming to cut Tehran'sexports to zero.
Iran exported about 100,000 bpd of crude in July, accordingto an industry source who tracks such flows and data fromRefinitiv Eikon. If condensate, a light oil, is included,shipments were about 120,000 bpd a day.
"We have managed to take almost 2.7 million barrels of crudeoil off of the market, denying Iran the wealth to create theirterror campaign around the world, and we have managed to keepthe oil markets fully supplied," Pompeo said.
"I am confident we can continue to do that," he added.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC), Russia and other producers have been cutting 1.2 millionbpd since Jan. 1 to reduce global supply. OPEC in July renewedthe pact until March 2020 to avoid a build-up of inventories asworldwide demand is seen weakening.
Despite OPEC's actions along with U.S. sanctions on Iran andVenezuela, Brent crude international oil prices havebeen relatively weak, falling on Tuesday to $59 a barrel from a2019 high of $75, pressured by concerns about slowing demand.
The exact level of Iranian exports has become harder toassess since U.S. sanctions returned in November, meaningestimates fall into a range rather than a definitive figure.(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Doina Chiacu in WashingtonEditing by Paul Simao)