Turkish state pipeline company Botas said on January 18th that Iraqi oil exports from the Turkish port of Ceyhan would likely resume on January 21st.
A Botas spokeswoman said that: “The first loading will begin on Sunday the 21st to the tanker Superlady.
On the 23rd the Amazon Falcon and on the 24th Seadance are listed to load.” Botas indicated that an official loading list had just been received from the U.N. The Superlady is slated to take on about 1 million barrels, marking the first loading from the port since December 30th when the Amazon Falcon last sailed.
Crude sales continued at the Gulf port of Mina al-Bakr, Iraq’s other approved oil export route, on January 18th, but at a reduced rate.
Iraqi oil exports had averaged 2.2 million b/d in November, but numerous export stoppages had reduced Iraq’s December average to little more than 500,000 b/d.
Baghdad had initially halted exports on November 30th due to a pricing dispute with the U.N. and its crude customers.
Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO had demanded that buyers pay a per-barrel surcharge into an account outside U.N. control, and Baghdad pulled the plug on crude sales after its customers had balked at the surcharge.
Iraq and the U.N. sanctions committee had since been involved in several pricing squabbles, with SOMO submitting below-market prices to account for the illegal surcharge.
U.N. diplomats breathed a sigh of relief when Iraq submitted its February pricing scheme for oil sales to Europe three weeks early, leading many to suggest that exports from Ceyhan could resume soon.
The U.N. approved Baghdad’s February prices to Europe on January 15th, and Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Rasheed said that five tankers had been approved to lift from Ceyhan in the coming days.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
