Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs, said Dec. 8 that the US-led effort to reduce Islamic State (IS) oil revenues has been “remarkably successful in a relatively short period of time,” but independent experts questioned whether the gains extend to local markets and long-standing smuggling corridors.
Hochstein provided no firm estimates about the amount of oil and refined products the jihadist group is selling but asserted, in comments before the American Security Project, that “the Wild West days are over” when it comes to such sales.
