Saudi Arabian oil exports rose 143,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January on the month, according to government data published Sunday, as the world's leading crude seller increased supplies to the United States.
Iraq has also set up a contingency plan to expand its oil export routes to deal with any potential crisis should Iran close the Strait of Hormuz that is used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, a government spokesman said.
Another OPEC producer, Oman, located strategically on the opposite side of the Strait of Hormuz, said the risk of military conflict between Tehran and the West was rising but there was still plenty of opportunity to negotiate peace.
Iran has repeatedly denied charges by Western nations it is developing the capability to build nuclear weapons, but the United States and European Union have recently imposed tougher sanctions in a bid to get Tehran to curb its nuclear programme.
