Exports from Iraq’s Gulf terminals in Basra were on course to have risen to a four-year high 3.44mn b/d for August according to preliminary data from state oil marketer Somo. Baghdad has been maximizing all available export conduits in the wake of the 25 March Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) closure, enabling Somo to boost exports despite continued Opec+ restrictions (MEES, 25 August). Last month saw total Federal exports edge up incrementally from July to 3.46mn b/d, their highest since November 2019’s 3.50mn b/d.
Total Federal exports – including modest trucked volumes to Jordan – have now increased by 200,000 b/d since March. The vast bulk of this has come from the Basra export facilities, where MEES understands that state-owned Basrah Oil Company (BOC) has been under pressure from the oil ministry to compensate for the loss of the typical 75,000-90,000 b/d of Federally-produced Kirkuk crude oil piped to Turkey’s Ceyhan through the ITP link. Having missed on awarding maintenance contracts in the past two years due to the non-availability of budgeted funds, BOC is having to max exports via infrastructure that is aging, war-damaged and in urgent need of upgrade. (CONTINUED - 1119 WORDS)
