On 19 August, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved several measures to boost the country’s oil exports and revenues amid the Hormuz crisis. This included authorizing the oil ministry to sign pre-payment contracts, which let sellers receive payment in advance for cargoes scheduled for later delivery.
The statement indicated that “schemes for buyers to deposit payments into banking ac-counts held by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq” were also approved. It is unclear if state marketer Somo has already shortlisted buyers. (CONTINUED - 163 WORDS)