Iraq considering Oman pipeline to boost crude exports, storage project

Iraq is considering building a pipeline to export crude oil to Oman, which would help it market Iraqi crude globally and keep a planned storage facility in the sultanate well supplied, the head of Iraq’s state oil marketer said on Sunday.

"There is already agreement in principle," SOMO Director General Ali Nazar told Reuters, adding that discussions on the pipeline’s route and capacity will be part of future contract negotiations.

The pipeline would deliver crude oil to an integrated storage facility at Ras Markaz, which is planned to have an initial capacity of 10 million barrels, Nazar said on the sidelines of an energy forum in Baghdad.

"We’re keen to move forward with the pipeline to ensure the storage tanks have strategic value and are consistently supplied with Iraqi crude on a daily basis,” he added.

The pipeline could be maritime, passing through the Gulf, or overland, depending on the outcome of a feasibility study comparing both options, Nazar said.

On Saturday, SOMO said it had signed two memorandums of understanding with Oman’s OQ Group, including one to develop the Ras Markaz storage project. The second MoU allows OQ Trading to market Iraqi crude globally, leveraging the commercial and administrative expertise of both sides.

(Reporting by Muayad Hameed; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Susan Fenton)