Somo: We are receiving many requests to increase the quantities of Iraqi oil exported to Asia

Baghdad - INA 

The Iraqi Oil Marketing Company "SOMO" confirmed today, Friday, that it had received requests to increase the quantities of Iraqi oil exported to Asia, while noting that the OPEC agreement affected the increase in revenues entering the country.

The company's general manager, Alaa Al-Yasiri, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "Russia is currently actually present in Asia as a competitor, but it will not affect the presence of Iraq, as the Oil Marketing Company has contracted with major government companies in major crude oil consuming countries."

Al-Yasiri added, “Iraq is in contract with almost all government refineries in China, as well as with government refineries in India, and these countries are not willing to risk abandoning Iraqi crude oil because they are certain that Russian crude from an economic point of view is better for it to go to Europe because the distance of the pipeline network and the transportation cost, all have effects, and if the problem between Russia and Ukraine ends, the Russian exporter does not prefer sending crude to Asia and will send it to Europe, while Iraq prefers sending its crude oil to Asia because they see that the future is with Iraqi crude and they will not give it up at a time when they are buying Quantities of markets in order to raise their stocks, but so far none of our customers has requested canceling the contract, on the contrary, there is a request to increase quantities in Asia.”

And he added, "Iraq has not had a reduction for a while, and now it exports all the quantities available for export and there is no problem, and all the quantities produced in excess of the domestic need available for export are completely exported," noting that "the OPEC agreement affected raising the revenues that enter Iraq." .

He continued: "In previous periods, the revenue from exports to the Ministry of Finance ranged between one and a half billion and two billion before the agreement, but after it, prices began to recover and reached $60 and $70, and during the Ukrainian crisis, the price reached $100, so the revenue thus exceeded 11 billion." dollars a month, and now we've made $82 billion."

He pointed out that "the Oil Marketing Company targets all refineries in all countries of the world and all markets, and it contacts all the companies that own the refineries and offers them Iraq's oil, and in the absence of contracts, they are met through seminars that the company conducts once or twice during the year."

In addition to that, he stated, "The seminars are large and the company invites all international companies to attend them," noting that "this year the seminar took place in Singapore, and Sumo met with all the companies that own the refineries and explained to them their mechanism of work and their marketing procedures, and also the meeting was held with our customers and they told us what they want in Next year, there will be an increase in quantities and a change in the type of crude oil purchased.”