Iraq to Produce a New Grade of Crude Oil

Tuesday, 3rd November 2020
by Editorial Team

DOHUK, IRAQ, MAY 31: An employee works at the Tawke oil field near the town of Zacho on May 31, 2009 in Dohuk province about 250 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan began crude oil exports on June 1, 2009 for the first time from two major oil fields, piping around 90,000 barrels per day (bpd). (Photo by Muhannad Fala’ah/Getty Images)

Iraq’s state-run Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has announced its intentions to launch a third strain of crude oil export-grade known as Basra Medium, according to Reuters.

This new strand of medium-sour crude will be procured by splitting the existing Basra Light production into two grades. Basra Light will have an API gravity of around 33 degrees after the split, while Basra Medium’s gravity will be about 29 degrees.

The existing Basra Heavy crude, created in 2015, has an API of around 24 degrees. The three grades are expected to provide more stability to the quality of Iraqi crude however, it could also see a spike in the price of Iraqi exports.

Basra Light is the main source of Iraqi exports and subsequently the country’s source of income. The main exporting terminal is at Basra Oil Terminal.

Iraq exported about 2.77 million barrels per day of Basra crude in October and it is the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.