According to Reuters, as shipping in the Hormuz Strait continues to be disrupted, Iraq announced on Tuesday (the 18th) that its cabinet had approved a mechanism through which specialized international and local companies can export Iraqi crude oil via various export channels. According to a statement released after the cabinet meeting, the new mechanism will come into effect on September 1 for a period of three months.
Iraq's government has not yet announced details such as the companies selected, the amount of crude oil planned to be exported under this mechanism, and the export ports.
Before the outbreak of the conflict in Iran at the end of February this year, Iraq had an average daily crude oil production of about 4 million barrels, with monthly exports reaching approximately 105 million barrels. Most of these exports went through the Bushehr oil terminal in southern Iran and were transported via the Strait of Hormuz. After traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was blocked, Iraq actively developed land-based pipelines and ports in neighboring countries, including those in Turkey and Syria, to reduce its dependence on the Gulf route.
This month, Ali Nizar, director of Iraq’s National Oil Sales Bureau, revealed that Iraq exports between 35.5 million and 37 million barrels of crude oil through the Hormuz Strait. Additionally, another 7 million barrels of crude oil are transported via land pipelines in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey for export.
According to data from the Iraqi National Oil Marketing Agency, Iraq exported approximately 32.11 million barrels of crude oil in May and June through various channels. Of this total, more than 20 million barrels were exported from the southern port city of Basra.
