Iraq is seeking to sell Basrah crude through an alternative route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Thursday, amid disruptions to oil shipments through the strategic waterway.
According to a tender document from the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and trading sources cited by the outlet, the cargoes can be transferred between tankers off the Omani coast, allowing buyers to avoid sending vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The tender closes on Aug. 28.
It is SOMO’s second crude tender this week. Unlike Monday’s offer, which required buyers to send tankers through Hormuz to load at Iraq’s Basra terminal, the latest tender allows ship-to-ship loading outside the strait.
The disruption in the strategic waterway has sharply reduced Iraq’s southern crude exports. Shipments averaged about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, up from roughly 500,000 bpd in June and 100,000 bpd in May, but remained well below pre-disruption Basrah exports of more than 3.3 million bpd.
With shipments still constrained, Baghdad is pursuing alternative export routes through Turkiye, Syria and Jordan to reduce its dependence on Hormuz. A proposed pipeline to Syria’s Baniyas port could take about four years to build and cost at least $15 billion.
