Kharg Island: Iran’s Oil Heartbeat in the Gulf

Kharg Island, a 22-square-kilometer coral outcrop off Iran’s Bushehr, is the country’s oil hub, processing about 90% of exports and hosting a deep-water terminal whose capacity has been expanded to multi‑million barrels per day (with up to seven million bpd previously achievable). Despite sanctions capping exports at roughly 1.6 million barrels per day, crude is ferried mainly to Asia (led by China) after being gathered from offshore fields and piped onshore. A 2025 upgrade added two million barrels of storage. The island is heavily militarized under the IRGC, with restricted access, and sits atop a history that ranges from ancient trade routes to colonial outposts and a hard-won post-war rebuild after the Iran–Iraq conflict.