Crude loading at Basra falls to 47,000 bbl/hr on low stock levels

Dubai (Platts)--14Nov2005

Crude loadings at Iraq's Persian Gulf Basra Oil Terminal have dropped to
47,000 bbl/hour, or 1.128-mil b/d, on diminishing crude oil storage levels,
leading to a three-day delay for waiting vessels, an Umm Qasr-based shipping
agent said Monday.
     "They had been pumping like mad," the shipping agent said. "They need to
get oil back in storage, then they will go back to normal rates." 
     Iraq usually pumps from Basra at a rate of 65,000 bbl/hour to 85,000
bbl/hour during normal conditions. Iraq has some 2-mil bbl in storage capacity
on the Faw Peninsula, located south of the country's second largest city
Basra. 
     Shipping operations at Basra halted last week because two tugs required
to move tankers in and out of the terminal were stopped by bad weather
conditions.
     "The tugs are now working but there are seven vessels waiting at
anchorage," the shipping agent said. "With this number of ships waiting it is
going to be a long time before operations are normal."
     Iraq's average crude exports in October stood at 1.239-mil b/d, compared
with 1.609-mil b/d in September, generating revenue of $1.89-bil, the US state
department said in its latest Iraq Weekly Status Report.
     Iraq's average crude oil production stood at 1.68-mil b/d for the week
ended Oct 30, slightly higher than the 1.64-mil b/d the week of Oct 23, but
down from around 2.07-mil b/d the week of Oct 16 and 2.154-mil b/d for the
week ended Oct 9, the report said. 
     Iraq's year-to-date revenue stood at $20.2-bil, higher than the 2004
figure of $17.01-bil. This puts crude oil export revenue above target in the
2005 budget, the report said. 
     Post-war crude output has remained below the oil ministry's 2005 target
of 2.5-mil b/d and below Iraq's post-war high of 2.67-mil b/d. 
     The supply of diesel and gasoline fell below national demand for the week
ended Oct 30, with diesel supplies standing at 15.7-mil liters/day, compared
with demand of 18-mil liters/day, and gasoline at 13.6-mil liters/day,
compared with demand of 18-mil liters/day, the report said. Kerosene supplies
stood at 7.9-mil liters/day.
--Glen Carey, glen_carey@platts.com

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