Iraq Fails to Sell Shipment of Basra Crude

Wednesday, 20th December 2017
by Editorial Team

030629-N-4790M-002 Central Command Area of Responsibility (Jun. 29, 2003) — Commercial oil tanker AbQaiq readies itself to receive oil at Mina-Al-Bkar Oil terminal (MABOT), an off shore Iraqi oil installation. AbQaiq is the first commercial vessel to receive a post-war shipment of crude oil for export at Mabot. AbQaiq is scheduled to take on an estimated 2 million barrels of crude oil. U.S. Navy and coalition forces are helping to provide security, enforcing an exclusionary perimeter around the terminal. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Andrew M. Meyers. (RELEASED)

Iraq failed to sell a cargo of two million barrels of Basra Heavy during an auction on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange yesterday, Reuters reports.

Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) did not receive any bids for the shipment, according to the news agency.

The minimum bid for the crude was the official selling price (OSP) plus $0.01, according to Hellenic Shipping News.

The crude would have been shipped in February and was designated for the Asian market, according to Reuters.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Iraq would be attempting to auction up to four million barrels of Basra crude this week.