Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

Iraq's New Oil Terminal Starts To Ease Export Bottleneck


Abarvets
 Share

Recommended Posts

UPDATE: Iraq's New Oil Terminal Starts To Ease Export Bottleneck

Friday, Mar 09, 2012

(Adds details on Iraq's export capacity, targets and production throughout.)

By Hassan Hafidh

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Iraq has started crude oil exports from a new floating terminal, a senior Iraqi oil official said Friday, alleviating a bottleneck and increasing the country's daily export capacity by 900,000 barrels of oil.

Iraq has had to reduce its production from southern oil fields in recent months because it didn't have enough export capacity, but the new Single-point Mooring, or SPM, terminal means the country will be able to increase exports from its southern oil fields to some 2.2 million barrels a day this year, and brings total export capacity in the south to 2.7 million barrels a day, officials said.

Exports of the Kirkuk crude from the country's north are expected to remain steady at around 400,000 barrels a day, meaning Iraq's total export target this year would reach 2.6 million barrels a day. Iraq, a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is currently producing around 2.9 million barrels a day while exports averaged 2.2 million barrels a day last year.

It aims to raise production to 3.4 million barrels a day this year, according to Oil Ministry figures, and to achieve that is seeking to ease bottlenecks, rejuvenate aging pipelines and build new storage for crude.

The official, who is from the country's largest oil firm the South Oil Co., said loading began at around 1245 local time Thursday at a rate ranging between 10,000-25,000 barrels an hour.

"If things go well and we don't have any problem, we are expected to finish loading the first vessel with 2 million barrels capacity in two days from now," said the official who asked not to be named.

Iraq had opened last month the new SPM, built by a subsidiary of Australia's Leighton Holding Ltd. (LEI.AU), but bad weather and some technical faults delayed the start of loading.

The Iraqi government has signed 11 oil deals with international oil companies over the last three years, with the aim of bringing its output to at least 8 million barrels a day later this decade.

-By Hassan Hafidh, Dow Jones Newswires; +962 799 831 831 ; hassan.hafidh@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZW20120309000149/Iraqs_new_oil_terminal_starts_to_ease_export_bottleneck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.