Iraq unable to ship oil to Lebanon powerplant amid Hormuz closure

Iraq's National Oil Company (INOC) has been unable to deliver oil to Lebanon due to the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Iraq's cessation of extraction from most of the Basra fields, high-ranking government sources in Baghdad told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site.

The oil, used by Lebanon to operate its power plants, is supplied by Iraq as part of a 2021 agreement between the two countries.

Iraq provides Lebanon with 1.5 million tons of oil - approximately 14 million barrels per year - in exchange for healthcare, medical services, agricultural services, and other goods supplied by Beirut.

A senior Iraqi government official told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Tuesday that the fuel shipment for March was not loaded onto the ship, as extraction and production had ceased at most of Iraq's oil fields.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, added that tankers carrying Iraqi oil were refusing to risk crossing the Strait of Hormuz, and that the delay in the shipment could trigger an energy crisis in Lebanon.

In a related development, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said on Tuesday that Baghdad is in contact with Tehran to secure permission for Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Abdul Ghani said there was "ongoing communication" with Iraq on the matter, which comes as Tehran allows some shipments from friendly third parties to pass through the Strait of Hormuz unheeded.

Iran has been accused of countless attacks on vessels in the Gulf region, as well as ports, oil fields, and gas plants that have led to a sharp downturn in exports from the country.

Iraq is also looking at exporting oil directly to Turkey via the mothballed Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Iraq was among the first OPEC oil producers to reduce production after the outbreak of the joint US-Israeli war on Iran.

The country's production fell from 4.3 million barrels per day to around 1.2 million, according to figures from the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

There have been a number of attacks on oil fields in Iraq, particularly in the Iraq-Kurdistan Region, while tankers off the coast of Basra have also been targeted.