Iraq Ships 2 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Out of the Strait of Hormuz for Delivery via Large Tanker for the First Time

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 3, the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company confirmed that it had chartered a Very Large Crude Carrier to load 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil from southern Iraq and sail out of the Strait of Hormuz, with subsequent delivery arrangements completed outside the strait. Company General Manager Ali Qais said this was the first time in decades that the state-owned oil tanker company had carried out such a crude oil transportation mission.

The shipment was carried out using a Very Large Crude Carrier. After technical and commercial negotiations with specialized shipping companies, the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company chartered a VLCC to undertake the voyage of loading crude oil from export facilities in southern Iraq and sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz. In the past, Iraq mainly had buyer vessels load cargo at export terminals near Basra; this round of transportation extended part of the delivery process to waters outside the strait.

The State Oil Marketing Organization of Iraq handled the subsequent crude oil sales. The organization said in September that Iraq is advancing the diversification of export channels and adjusting the sales terms for crude oil loaded in October. Public documents show that the discounts on some short-term contracts for Basra Light and Basra Heavy crude oil loaded in October reached $34.5 per barrel and $37 per barrel, respectively, with pickup locations including the Basra Oil Terminal and Iraq's single-point mooring facilities.

After shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted, Iraq's crude oil exports at one point fell significantly below pre-war levels. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil disclosed in September that the average crude oil export volume in the early part of that month was about 2.6 million barrels per day; data previously submitted to parliament by the State Oil Marketing Organization of Iraq stated that pre-crisis exports were about 3.5 million barrels per day. Iraq's southern export system handles the vast majority of the country's crude oil shipments abroad. Data from January showed that Basra exports accounted for about 94% of the country's total crude oil exports that month.

In addition to chartering large tankers, Iraq is also advancing other export channels. The Ministry of Oil has discussed increasing the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products via Syria and continues to study diversifying exports through northern routes and other land-sea multimodal channels. The Iraqi Oil Tankers Company has also proposed expanding its own fleet of large crude oil tankers to increase the vessel resources available to the State Oil Marketing Organization in the loading and delivery stages.