Construction of the facilities is completed by 80 percent, he said, adding that each of the facilities has the capacity to store one million barrels of oil. The oil storage capacity of Kharg Island will reach 28 million barrels by January, 2014, managing director of the Iranian Oil Terminal Company Pirouz Mousavi said in May.

Currently, four oil storage facilities are under construction on the island, the IRNA News Agency quoted Mousavi as saying. The facilities will come on stream at the cost of 420 billion rials (about $34.25 million), he said.

Construction planning for these facilities began in January 2011. They are supposed to come on stream in 36 months, Mousavi explained.

Mousavi was quoted by the Fars news agency last month as saying that Iran was building several land based oil storage sites at locations including Kharg Island and Assaluyeh. Mousavi said Iran faces no problems with oil exports.

“We have no consignment on water and if there is any, it waits for loading and exports,” Mousavi was quoted as saying.

On April 24 Reuters reported that Iran is storing millions of barrels of oil in tankers in its territorial waters as Tehran struggles with tougher Western sanctions on its vital seaborne exports, ship industry sources say.

Iran’s oil revenues have fallen by about 50 percent since tough EU and U.S. measures were imposed last year. This is hurting business and it cuts living standards for ordinary Iranians.

Ship industry sources gave varying estimates on the amount of oil stored by Iran at sea, but all said the volume was higher.

Data from maritime intelligence publisher IHS Fairplay estimated 10 of Iran’s supertankers, each able to carry up to 2 million barrels of crude, were storing oil, together with one smaller tanker able to carry up to 1 million barrels.