Egypt moves to resume importing 12 million barrels of Basra oil annually.

A government official stated on Sunday that Egypt seeks to resume importing 12 million barrels of Basra crude oil annually from Iraq starting in the third quarter, after a halt that lasted for about a year and a half.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt is in the final stage of negotiations with Iraq to resolve the disputes related to the opening of financial credits for the supply of Iraqi crude oil shipments.

“We expect to resume supplies in the third quarter of this year,” he added.

The source also indicated that negotiations with Iraq “include granting favorable terms to the Egyptian Petroleum Authority, whereby Baghdad will receive payment for shipments supplied to Egypt three months after delivery.”

Baghdad had stopped pumping that amount of Basra crude oil annually to Egypt at the end of 2023, following financial disputes between the two sides.

In April 2017, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) signed a commercial contract with the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) to supply 12 million barrels of Basra Light crude oil, at a rate of two million barrels per shipment, for a renewable one-year period.

According to official data, the contract between the two parties was being regularly renewed but was suspended at the end of 2023.

Egypt currently imports one million barrels of Kuwaiti oil per month, in addition to one million barrels from Saudi Aramco, through credit facilities.

Shafaq.com