Central Oil Company reveals the rate of Iraqi crude exports for August: We are working to increase it.
Central Oil Company reveals the rate of Iraqi crude exports for August: We are working to increase it.
2026-08-21
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Director General of the Central Oil Company, Mohammed Yassin, revealed on Friday that the rate of Iraqi crude exports in August reached about two million barrels per day, expecting an increase in oil exports during the coming period.
Yassin explained to Shafaq News Agency that “there are understandings and discussions with the American and Iranian sides to allow the passage of tankers loaded with Iraqi oil through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that “the Ministry of Oil is making strenuous efforts to increase Iraqi exports, but it is not possible to give specific figures for the expected increase, but we are working on that during the coming period.”
It is noted that security risks and high insurance costs are among the most prominent obstacles to restoring Iraqi exports to their normal levels, as shipping companies have refrained from sending tankers to Basra ports despite the large discounts offered by the Iraqi oil exporting company “SOMO” to buyers.
Ship tracking data earlier in August showed a sharp decline in shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as ship owners remained hesitant to enter the area due to the risk of being targeted.
An Iraqi government source revealed last Monday that the State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) is conducting intensive negotiations with American and German oil transport companies in an attempt to secure the passage of Iraqi crude through the Strait of Hormuz, taking advantage of Iranian approval for the passage of tankers flying the Iraqi flag amid the disruptions to shipping in the waterway.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “Iraq is seeking to capitalize on Iran’s approval for Iraqi-flagged oil tankers to cross the border to deliver crude oil to global markets,” indicating that “SOMO has held talks with two companies specializing in global oil transport, one American and the other German.”
Days earlier, Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi gave the Ministry of Oil a week to show tangible results in addressing the export crisis, and directed it to contract with international companies to market and sell oil, and to develop alternative export outlets, in light of the decline in exports due to the Hormuz crisis.
shafaq.com
