DUBAI: Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, is expected to export about 2.93 million barrels per day of its Basra crude in August, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The country plans to ship about 2.08 million bpd of Basra Light and 850,000 bpd of Basra Heavy in August, the source said.
Traders said on Thursday that the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has allocated 3.017 million bpd of Basra crude for export for its September loading programme, with Basra Heavy shipments to jump by about 400,000 bpd from a month earlier.
However, the industry source said Basra Heavy crude allocation in September is expected to be about 1.02 million bpd, with Basra Light allocation of 1.995 million bpd.
A reason for the rise next month is that some of the August cargoes are expected to be lifted in September, the source said.
Iraq’s limited storage capacity means that SOMO tends to/sallocate more crude shipments than the volumes available for export to avoid disrupting production.
— Reuters
