Iraq exports 73.7M barrels in August as Hormuz shipments rise, Ceyhan declines

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq exported some 73.69 million barrels of oil in August, according to data from the national oil marketer, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), while exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk oilfields via Turkey’s Ceyhan port reached only 3.93 million barrels in the same period, despite a recently signed deal with Ankara aimed at boosting output.

In its monthly report published earlier this week, SOMO detailed that total oil exports in August reached 73.69 million barrels, at an average of 2.38 million barrels per day (bpd).

Exports through southern Iraq’s primary offshore facility, the Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT), reached 2.25 million bpd and 69.75 million barrels in total, loaded onto tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Of that, Basra Medium crude accounted for 55.7 million barrels, while Basra Heavy exceeded 14 million barrels.

Shipping via the Strait of Hormuz – a major energy chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass – has yet to normalize since late February, when the United States and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign against Iran, striking thousands of targets across the country over six weeks.

For Iraq, disruptions to the key waterway have dealt a severe blow to the country’s oil sector and broader economy, with crude production falling from around 4.14 million bpd before the crisis to as low as 1.49 million bpd at its height, dragging exports down with it.

A prominent financial adviser to the Iraqi government, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, told Rudaw in March that the disruptions were costing Iraq between $200 million and $255 million per day, adding that even if oil prices reached $150 per barrel, the country’s monthly revenue could still plunge from $7 billion to just $1 billion.

While the latest SOMO data reflects a notable recovery, both output and exports remain well short of pre-crisis levels.

Meanwhile, figures from Iraq’s national oil marketer showed that combined exports from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk oilfields in August stood at 3.93 million barrels in total – a daily average of around 126,000 bpd – shipped via Turkey’s Ceyhan port. A breakdown showed that Kurdistan Region exports averaged 70,000 bpd, totaling 2.17 million barrels, while Kirkuk averaged 56,000 bpd, amounting to 1.76 million barrels. 

The figures fell short of expectations, given a newly signed oil agreement between Ankara and Baghdad.

Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair said in early August that the accord seeks “to ensure the continuity of crude oil exports from the Kurdistan Region’s fields, alongside an ambitious plan to route part of the southern oil through the pipeline to achieve export volumes exceeding 700,000 barrels per day.”

The remarks came after Iraq signed a one-year deal with Turkey following the expiration of the 1973 pipeline agreement. While Baghdad had sought to renew the decades-old treaty, Ankara pushed for a more comprehensive arrangement, ultimately resulting in revised terms.

The agreement set an initial export capacity of around 750,000 bpd, contingent on security conditions, the restoration of oil production in the Kurdistan Region, and the completion of logistical preparations needed to move larger volumes of southern Iraqi crude northward.