Iraq shifts oil strategy by arranging tanker to move past Hormuz
This may help the country reach refiners reluctant to send vessels through the strait
IRAQ’S state tanker company arranged a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) to transport two million barrels beyond the Strait of Hormuz, marking a move towards offering oil outside the Persian Gulf.
Iraqi Oil Tankers loaded a VLCC and arranged for it to sail through the strait “for the first time in decades”, director general Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar said in video comments published on the Oil Ministry’s Facebook page.
Previously, buyers would have arranged for supertankers to collect Iraqi crude at Basra, near the head of the Persian Gulf.
The transit marks a shift in how Iraq markets its crude, with the state tanker company taking responsibility for moving a shipment beyond the critical strait.
Delivering outside the Gulf could help Iraq reach refiners reluctant to send vessels through Hormuz and secure better prices, reducing the discounts needed to attract buyers to its southern terminals.
Oil producers across the Middle East are rushing to secure tankers to underpin their ability to restore flows of crude and refined fuels through the strait, following disruptions caused by the Iran war.
Abu Dhabi National Oil’s shipping arm is among those building the capacity of its tanker fleet.
Iraq is also seeking funding to purchase tankers for the company, Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair told the state-run news agency on Saturday (Oct 3).
Owning vessels would support exports and increase financial returns, he said, without saying how many tankers it wants to buy.
The company’s push to buy tankers would give Baghdad greater control over crude deliveries as Iraq seeks to compete with regional producers, Qais said.
He did not identify the VLCC used for the first shipment outside Hormuz, nor its owner or the final destination and buyer of the crude.
Last month, Iraq’s crude exports averaged about 2.6 million barrels a day in the period through Sep 21, the ministry said.
That was up from about two million barrels a day in August, but remained below the daily exports of 3.3 million to 3.5 million barrels shipped before the war.
Baghdad is also pursuing alternative export outlets, including the northern route through Turkey and a proposed pipeline to Syria’s Baniyas port. BLOOMBERG
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