This is a big thing with SA, Russia, and China when it comes to oil and gas production. Their numbers are either non-existent or manipulated. They can say whatever the hell they want to and there are no repercussions in the area, so they can report whatever numbers they feel like at any given time. I think that this particular situation is similar.

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I'm not fully convinced that China's investment in Iran will amount to much. If SA continues to be one of the world's largest producers, Iran won't have much of a market. The only countries that will purchase their oil are countries that are already purchasing oil from SA. It makes the feud between Iran/China and SA/US even more interesting.

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All the while, this is the most attention that North American oil workers have paid to current events in the last 10 years.