Iran is budgeting for a further drop in crude exports for the year starting 21 March as US-backed sanctions continue to squeeze its energy sector.

Government budget planning official Rahim Mambini told Iran’s ILNA news agency that crude exports are expected to average 1.3 million barrels a day (b/d) over the next 12 months.

This compares with an average of 1.4 million b/d for the first ten months the current Iranian calendar year to January 2013, Mambini said.

Before sanctions were introduced in 2012, Iran exported an average of about 2.6 million b/d of crude, largely to Asian economies.

It emerged this week that Iran’s third largest crude buyer, India, may have to halt imports from the Islamic republic due to insurance coverage being unavailable.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that Iran lost more than $40bn in export revenues in 2012, amounting to about $3.4bn a month, as US-backed sanctions prevent the government receiving payments for oil shipments.