Iraq began trucking fuel oil to Syria this week after state marketer Somo signed contracts with local buyers. Reuters reported on 31 March that four contracts were awarded to export more than 1.9mn tons of high sulfur fuel oil from April to June, equating to 650,000 tons per month (140,000 b/d). The sheer scale of the volumes to be trucked means that it will be a huge achievement if Iraq can pull this off.
Speaking to Asharq TV on 1 April, the state marketer’s Director General Ali Nizar said that volumes were loaded ex-refinery from Basrah, Doura and Baiji refineries. He said some volumes have already “safely reached Syrian tanks” at the Banias terminal on the Mediterranean Sea. (CONTINUED - 232 WORDS)