Basra Export Terminal Fully Reopened

By John Lee.

Iraq has reopened all four of the crude loading berths at the al-Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT), according to a report from Platts.

Two of the terminal's four jetties were shut in September to allow the installation of a jacket for a new platform in the Gulf to feed four Single Point Moorings.

The temporary closure of the two jetties reduced the terminal's export capacity to 800,000 bpd, half of its normal level.

The reduced capacity at the terminal through much of September was the main cause of a big drop in Iraqi crude output and exports last month.

In addition to the Basra terminal, Iraq can also export oil from the Gulf through the Khor al-Amaya terminal and from the first two SPMs, numbers 2 and 3, which are already in operation and currently handle a combined total of around 800,000 bpd of crude.

This is less than half their design capacity of 900,000 bpd each, mainly because of a lack of pressure in the pipeline feeding them.

(Source: Platts)