Reuters reported that a cargo of crude oil from the autonomous region in the North of Iraq was unloaded by the tanker SCF Altai at Ashkelon port in Israel on 20 June, but the KRG claims it did not sell to the Israelis.
The KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources contacted local news outlets to state that it had not sold crude oil to Israel, directly or indirectly, but did not reveal who the buyer of the shipment was.
Oil from the Kurdistan autonomous region is exported via pipeline to Turkey, where it is loaded onto a tanker at the port of Ceyhan. The cargo in question was initially loaded onto the tanker United Emblem at Ceyhan, which then transferred the oil to the SCF Altai off the coast of Malta in mid-June.
The Kurdish region and Iraqi government are in dispute over the rights to sell the oil, with foreign governments warning that the cargoes come with legal risks for buyers. The movements of the shipment to Israel are likely to increase tension over Kurdish exports, as Iraq and Israel have no diplomatic relations and a turbulent history.
The first Kurdish oil to leave Ceyhan still remains on the tanker United Leadership which is anchored off of Morocco after failing to find a new buyer since it was refused entry to a Moroccan terminal.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited.  Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.   Â
