ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq exported 32.1 million barrels of oil in the months of May and June, the country's national oil marketer reported, marking a continuation of the oil export drop since the onset of the Iran war in late February.
Data released by Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) showed that Baghdad exported some 32.1 million barrels of oil in the months of May and June, generating total revenue of $2.3 billion.
The data further shows that crude from the southernmost Basra province accounted for the largest volume, at 20.2 million barrels. The Kurdistan Region crude exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port totaled 1.56 million barrels, while crude from Kirkuk through Ceyhan as well amounted to 10.3 million barrels.
Iraqi oil sales have suffered significant declines since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran. Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April, later extended on June 18, but restrictions in and around the Strait of Hormuz continue to impede commercial shipping.
The Strait, a strategic waterway through which at least one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, has been subject to tit-for-tat restrictions between the warring sides since the outbreak of the war.
Amid these maritime measures, Iraqi oil exports dropped to 18.6 million barrels in March, generating about $1.96 billion in revenue, compared with more than 99 million barrels and $6.81 billion in February, according to figures provided by Baghdad's oil ministry.
Moreover, Iraq has in recent months ramped up efforts to export via alternative routes and activate under-utilized ones, including the Turkey-Iraq Pipeline (TIP), which transports crude oil from the Kurdistan Region to the Ceyhan port in Turkey.
Iraqi oil ministry spokesperson Salim al-Rukabi told Rudaw last week that TIP is in the final stages of preparing to export up to 350,000 barrels of Kirkuk crude per day.
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