Economist: Closure of Ceyhan Port Line Doubled Kurdistan Oil Smuggling
Economist: Closure of Ceyhan Port Line Doubled Kurdistan Oil Smuggling
9-12-2024
Information/Anbar..
Today, Thursday, economic expert Rashid Al-Saadi attributed the revival of oil derivatives smuggling operations from the Kurdistan Region to Turkey to the closure of the Ceyhan pipeline for exporting oil from Iraq to Turkey and from there to countries around the world.
Al-Saadi said in a statement to Al-Maalouma Agency that “Iraq’s losses from the decline in oil prices are estimated at 1.2 billion dinars annually, not to mention the large financial losses resulting from the suspension of the Turkish port of Ceyhan for exporting crude oil, as Iraq previously exported about 400 thousand barrels per day.”
He added, “The Turkish port of Ceyhan’s halt in exporting crude oil has revived the smuggling of oil derivatives from the Kurdistan Region to Turkey, despite the fact that oil supply operations to Turkey have been officially halted by the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).”
He pointed out that “political factors are behind the suspension of the Ceyhan oil pipeline with Turkey, despite the completion of technical rehabilitation operations.”
He added, “The smuggling of oil derivatives from the Kurdistan Region to Turkey has greatly affected Iraq’s oil imports.”
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