Iraq is negotiating with Iran to allow its oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for its crude exports, which fund 90% of its budget

BAGHDAD: Iraq is in contact with Iran to arrange passage for its oil tankers through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told local media that communications are underway to authorise the passage of certain vessels.

“We need to provide them with the identity of these ships, their name, their affiliation, who owns them,” he told al-Sharqiya TV. The strait, which Iran has closed to vessels from most countries, is normally a conduit for a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

Before the recent outbreak of war, Iraq shipped roughly 3.5 million barrels per day from its southern Basra fields via this route. As a founding OPEC member, crude sales constitute 90% of Iraq’s budget revenues, making the export route critical.

The country has been scrambling to find alternative solutions to export its oil. This includes long-running talks with the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region to use its pipeline system.

Kurdish authorities had requested several measures in return, including that Baghdad facilitates the region’s access to US dollars through banks. Late Tuesday, Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said oil exports would “flow through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline as soon as possible”.

He gave no further details on a possible timeline for this arrangement. Barzani added that discussions with Baghdad “will continue with urgency to lift the restrictions on imports and trade into the Kurdistan Region”.

 The Sun Malaysia