Iraq allocates 2019 oil sales with 67 percent of exports for Asian markets

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s Oil Ministry on Tuesday said they had allocated the country’s oil sales for 2019 with 67 percent of exports going to Asian markets.

The ministry mentioned that 20 percent of its oil exports in the future would go to Europe and 13 percent to North and South America.

Iraq’s 2019 oil sales will also include the shipments of Kirkuk oilfields which contain billions of barrels of oil reserves, the ministry said in a statement.

“The economic and marketing basis and mechanisms, and strategic vision, adopted by (state oil marketer) SOMO in allocating the available quantities for exports are based upon the importance of each market with regards to demand and revenue generated from selling one barrel,” Reuters quoted Asim Jihad, a ministry spokesperson.

Thamer Ghadban, the Iraqi Minister of Oil, urged a “balanced policy” when dealing with the global oil market, and stated that the country’s 2019 sales were aimed at maintaining stability.

The head of SOMO noted that in March, Iraq would try to corner a more significant share for Asian markets through a new joint venture strategy.

He mentioned that 60 percent of the country’s oil exports are already directed to Asia.

The Federal Government of Iraq recently resumed the export of Kirkuk oil to Turkey’s Ceyhan port through the Kurdistan Region’s oil pipeline which was halted for over a year.

For now, the resumption is about 50,000 – 100,000 oil barrels per day, which is expected to increase and bring more revenue to Kurdistan and Iraq in general.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany