Iraq offers deep crude discounts as Hormuz transit risks rise - Bloomberg
Iraq is offering steep discounts on crude for May loading, but buyers face the risk of sending tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as hostilities escalate in the region, Bloomberg News reported, citing a notice from state oil marketer State Organization for Marketing of Oil.
SOMO is offering discounts of up to $33.40 a barrel on Basrah Medium crude, with cargoes loading May 1-10 priced at that level and narrowing to $26 later in the month, while Basrah Heavy is offered at $30 below official prices, the May 3 document seen by Bloomberg showed.
The notice said “force majeure shall not be applicable to this offer, given that it has been issued under existing exceptional conditions already known to all parties.”
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely impassable since fighting began in late February, and renewed US-Iran violence has raised doubts over a four-week truce, Bloomberg said, adding that loadings at Basrah fell sharply in April as tankers struggled to enter the Persian Gulf.
