Iraq's April Hormuz Oil Exports Plunge to 10 Million Barrels as War Chokes Tanker Access
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 16
Iraq's April Hormuz Oil Exports Plunge to 10 Million Barrels as War Chokes Tanker Access
13 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 16
Iraq shipped just 10 million barrels through the Strait of Hormuz in April, down from roughly 93 million barrels a month before the Iran war, Oil Minister Basim Mohammed said.
Insurance constraints have kept tankers from entering the strait after its closure, sharply curbing exports from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait and driving oil prices higher.
Iraq is producing 1.4 million barrels per day and has partly rerouted exports through Turkey, sending 200,000 barrels via Ceyhan after the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in March, with a target of 500,000 barrels.
Baghdad is also pursuing longer-term relief through talks with Ankara, negotiations with Chevron, ExxonMobil and Halliburton, and dialogue with OPEC aimed at lifting Iraq's production capacity to 5 million barrels per day.
With Hormuz closed, can Iraq's pipeline plan with Turkey truly save its economy from total collapse?
As a new war rages and the UAE quits OPEC, is the era of cartel-controlled oil prices officially over?
Is the real crisis not the closed strait, but the permanent damage being done to Middle Eastern oil fields?