Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.24
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The possible oil swap deal between Iran and Iraq may not affect the latter’s conformity with OPEC/non-OPEC oil output cut deal, Alaa K. Alyasri, director general of Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company SOMO, told Trend.
“Discussions with Islamic Republic of Iran are still ongoing. However, SOMO will announce the outcome in due course,” he said. “Moreover, such agreement, or any other agreement if and when it is finalized, should not affect Iraq's conformity of OPEC guidelines.”
Earlier, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi through a Facebook post said that Kirkuk will supply about 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil to the Kermanshah refinery in western Iran. He also said that the figure may reach 60,000 barrels per day in future.
According to Iranian media reports, Alaa al-Moussawi, director of the oil marketing company Oil Marketing Company SOMO, has also echoed plans for delivering Kirkuk’s oil to Iran.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh earlier said that his country preferred to swap oil with Iraq. He had mentioned that Kirkuk oil would feed refineries in northern and northwestern Iran, including Arak, Kermanshah, Tehran and Tabriz. In turn, Iran will deliver the same amount of oil to Iraq through its southern borders.
According to Iraqi oil minister, Kirkuk’s oil will be carried by road tankers and in the meantime, the sides will take measures to construct a pipeline to transfer the Arab country’s oil to Iran.
The Iraqi official has said that the oil swap deal is capable of contributing to the economic situation of the southern ports of the Arab state, as well as strengthening ties with its eastern neighbor, Iran.
Iraq used to ship Kirkuk’s oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan via a pipeline owned and operated by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). However, following the recent tensions in the region, the Iraqi Oil Ministry took control of the oil filed and started talks with Iranian officials about the province’s oil exports through the Islamic Republic.
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