Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for January.

In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices:

• For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI);
• Shipments to Europe are priced relative the North Sea Spot BFOE; and
• Asian shipmentas are priced relative to the Dubai-Oman crude benchmark, published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill.

The new prices to Europe are as follows:

• Kirkuk crude to Europe will sell at a discount of $0.70 a barrel relative to the North Sea (Dated Brent) benchmark, up 65 cents from December;
• Basra Light to Europe will sell at a discount of $2.50 a barrel to Dated Brent, an increase of 65 cents.

And to the US:

• Basrah Light will sell at a $1.50 discount to the U.S. benchmark, up 10 cents from December
• Kirkuk will sell at a premium of 15 cents, up 5 cents.

To Asia:

• Basrah Light to Asia will sell at a premium of $2.90 above the benchmark, up from a premium of $1.80 in December.

(Sources: Reuters)

Iraq’s oil exports were 2.088 million barrels per day in October down from 2.101 million bpd in September, according to a report from Reuters.

Falah Alamri, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), said exports were 1.628 million bpd from the southern oil hub of Basra and 460,000 bpd from the northern fields around Kirkuk, which included 8,000 bpd exported to Jordan by truck.

“We were expecting a higher export level than the previous month but the bad weather around the Basra ports for the last six days lowered the exports,” Alamri said.

Exports from the Gulf terminals off Basra were 1.63 million bpd last Thursday but dropped sharply the next two days and were halted completely on Sunday before resuming on Monday at a rate of about 960,000 bpd.

The official selling price averaged around $104.

(Source: Reuters)

Bloomberg reports that Iraq will ask to rejoin OPEC’s quota system for crude output in 2014.

The holder of the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves plans to increased production from an average of 2.9 million barrels a day to 3.4 million barrels a day next year, and 4.5 million barrels a day in 2013, said Falah al- Amri, director of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). The government ultimately intends to boost production to 12 million barrels a day by 2017.

“We will seek the biggest possible quota,” al-Amri said.

Iraq is exporting an average of 2.2 million barrels a day this month and earning an average price of $104 a barrel, he said in an interview in the southern city of Basra.

Iraq is the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries currently exempt from output quotas.

“Iraq will effectively be taking other countries’ market share” when it re-enters the OPEC system, Samuel Ciszuk, an energy analyst at IHS Global Insight, told Bloomberg. “It will become a source of tension for the group, especially given the very low level of trust that exists there now … Iraq will aim to have a quota slightly higher than what Iran will have, since Iraq says they have higher reserves.”

His stated target date of 2014 conforms with the group’s own forecasts. Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said in 2010 that OPEC would start discussing the matter in “four to five years.”

Iraq ships oil mostly to China, India and other Asian countries, said al-Amri.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Gulf Today reports that Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has issued a tender to buy:

• 1.365 million tonnes of gasolinen (unleaded 92 RON);
• 773,000 tonnes of 0.1 percent gas oil; and,
• 292,000 tonnes of jet fuel.

The fuel is for delivery into Khor Al Zubair terminal between January and June 2012.

(Source: Reuters, The Gulf Today)

Higher oil prices and rising exports in the first eight months of the year have meant Iraq has already earned more from crude oil exports in the first eight months of 2011 than in all of 2010.

The country generated $55.733 billion between January and August, compared to a total of $52.202 billion in all of last year, according to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

Exports and prices have both been higher in 2011 than last year, resulting in the marked rise in revenues.

Crude exports in 2011 averaged 2.19 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of August, compared to 2010 figures of 1.89 million bpd.

Average prices, meanwhile, have risen from around $90 per barrel in January to between $104 and $114 per barrel from March to August. By comparison, oil prices ranged from $71 per barrel to $86 per barrel in 2010.

The latest data show Iraq exported 67.9 million barrels of oil in August, earning revenues of $7.124 billion, at oil prices averaging $104.92. This figures differ slightly from those reported by AKnews earlier this month.

According to Middle East Online, that compares to overall exports of 55.4 million barrels during the same month a year ago, earning income of $3.957 billion.

(Sources: Middle East Online, SOMO)

Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for October.

In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices:

• For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI);
• Shipments to Europe are priced relative the North Sea Spot BFOE; and
• Asian shipmentas are priced relative to the Dubai-Oman crude benchmark, published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill.

The new prices to Europe are as follows:

• Kirkuk crude to Europe will sell at a discount of $1.45 a barrel relative to the North Sea (Dated Brent) benchmark, up 130 cents from September;
• Basra Light to Europe will sell at a discount of $3.00 a barrel to Dated Brent, an increase of 105 cents.

And to the US:

• Basrah Light will sell at a $1.70 discount to the U.S. benchmark, up 15 cents from September
• Kirkuk will sell at a premium of 10 cents, down 10 cents.

To Asia:

• Basrah Light to Asia will sell at a premium of 5 cents above the benchmark, up from a discount of $1 in September.

(Sources: Dow Jones)

Iraq’s oil ministry says oil exports increased in June by slightly over 2 percent compared to the previous month, according to the Washington Post.

Tuesday’s statement says last month oil exports averaged 2.273 million barrels per day  (bpd) – up from the 2.225 bpd in May.

The sales yielded $7.173 billion with an achieved average price of $105.167 per barrel. May’s exports generated about $7.45 billion with an average price of about $108 a barrel.

The statement added that the oil was sold to 28 international oil companies

(Source: Washington Post)

Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices on Sunday for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for August.

In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices:

• For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI);
• Shipments to Europe are priced relative the North Sea Spot BFOE; and
• Asian shipmentas are priced relative to the Dubai-Oman crude benchmark, published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill.

The new prices to Europe are as follows:

• Kirkuk crude to Europe will sell at a discount of $2.75 a barrel relative to the North Sea (Dated Brent) benchmark, up 80 cents from July;
• Basra Light to Europe will sell at a discount of $4.55 a barrel to Dated Brent, an increase of 70 cents.

And to the US:

• Basrah Light will sell at a $1.75 discount to the U.S. benchmark, up 25 cents from July
• Kirkuk will sell at the benchmark, as it did in July.

To Asia:

• Basrah Light to Asia will continue to sell at the benchmark.

(Sources: Dow Jones)