Iraq exported 10 million barrels of oil through Hormuz in April: Minister

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s newly appointed oil minister Basim Mohammed Khudair said on Saturday that Baghdad exported nearly 10 million barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz in April, despite war-related restrictions in the waterway.

In response to a question from Rudaw’s Ziyad Ismael at his first press conference as oil minister, Khudair said that before wartime restrictions Iraq “exported 93 million barrels of oil per month” through the strait, but in April exports fell to 10 million barrels.

“Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have suffered a major decline due to the ongoing war,” Khudair said, adding that oil exports depend on the arrival of tankers.

"Previously, tankers would come and were insured, but now, because the geographical area of the Strait of Hormuz is a hot zone, shipping companies are refusing to send their vessels through, except for a very small number," Khudair added.

Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which at least one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, has been under tit-for-tat restrictions from the United States and Iran since the outbreak of their war on February 28 - which has been tenuously ended on April 8 through a Pakistani-brokered ceasefire.

Less than a week after the ceasefire, the US government imposed a blockade on vessels arriving and leaving Iranian ports, effectively preventing Iran from selling oil and forcing it to significantly reduce production. Iran has responded with impeding naval traffic in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, tampering with the passing vessels’ signals, imposing unofficial taxes, and attacking the vessels that do not comply with its “instructions” or don’t take “permission” to pass.

Consequently, 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.

Furthermore, the Iraqi oil minister said they will “complete” the work of the former government cabinet, noting that their main objectives are to “increase production capacity, close the gas flaring file, and strengthen relations with [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] OPEC to increase production.”

On alternative export routes, Khudair said that they “have tried to compensate for this” through the Kurdistan Region.

"We have sent a portion of Basra’s oil to Kirkuk and reached a daily export volume of 200,000 barrels via the Port of Ceyhan. We plan to increase this amount to 500,000 barrels."

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has compelled Iraq to scramble for alternative export routes. Authorities have turned to the Kurdistan Region's pipeline to Turkey, as well as a Syrian port, to maintain flows.

Before the conflict, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were producing a combined 4.5 million barrels of oil per day, according to figures released in February.

Khudair took an oath as the oil minister on Thursday. He is one of the approved 14 ministers in the new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s cabinet. The parliament is yet to approve nine more ministers in his government.