Iraq faces crude marketing challenges
The Mid-East Gulf producer may need to take lessons from its peers to achieve best value in a crowded market
Middle Eastern NOCs have long faced a twin challenge of ever more competitive markets in their traditional East of Suez backyard and the need to squeeze out more revenue from their production. From Oman’s decision in the mid-2000s to make its crude freely tradeable in the spot market to the move several years later by Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc to charge a premium for lifting destination restrictions on some of its cargoes, they have been constantly changing their business models to try to capture greater value from their crude sales. Covid-19 has served only to reinforce the importance of East of Suez, as refining margin weakness forces more closures in the West. So, is the time ripe for more tradit

Also in this section
11 August 2025
The administration is pushing for deregulation and streamline permitting for natural gas, while tightening requirements and stripping away subsidies from renewables
8 August 2025
The producers’ group missed its output increase target for the month and may soon face a critical test of its strategy
7 August 2025
The quick, unified and decisive strategy to return all the barrels from the hefty tranche of cuts from the eight producers involved in voluntary curbs signals a shift and sets the tone for the path ahead
7 August 2025
Without US backing, the EU’s newest sanctions package against Russia—though not painless—is unlikely to have a significant impact on the country’s oil and gas revenues or its broader economy