Key facts
- Iraq's Somo has issued a tender for Basrah crude spot sales.
- The tender includes Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy grades.
- Loading dates are between September 1-30.
- Bids must be submitted with differentials to destination-specific benchmarks.
- This is Somo's second spot sale tender since the US-Iran war began.
- The Iraqi cabinet approved a new crude discount mechanism on August 18.
Iraq's state-owned oil marketer Somo has issued a tender to sell Basrah crude on a spot basis, marking its second such offering since the start of the US-Iran war. The tender, which closes on August 26, covers medium sour Basrah Medium and heavy sour Basrah Heavy crude for loading between September 1 and September 30 from the Basrah Oil Terminal on a FOB basis.
Potential buyers are required to submit bids with differentials to the pricing benchmark relevant to their intended destination. For cargoes bound for the Asia-Pacific region, bids should be priced against the September average of Dubai and Oman assessments. Buyers in Europe and the US must submit bids referencing North Sea Dated and the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI), respectively.