SOMO is sole marketer of Iraq oil – ministry

BAGDHAD / IraqiNews.com: The State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) is the sole body invested with the authority of marketing Iraqi oil, according to an Iraqi oil ministry spokesman on Sunday. “There is no agreement between the ministry and the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s government to export oil from the region as of next June,” Asim Jihad told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Iraqi oil marketing via the Kurdistan region must be in agreement with the central government or the ministry through mechanisms between the two sides,” Jihad noted. The autonomous region’s ministry of natural wealth had announced on Saturday (May 9) that it will “officially” start exporting crude oil from the Tawki field at a rate of about 60,000 barrels per day on June 1. Jihad pointed out that the exported crude oil is marketed by SOMO and the proceeds go to the central government “for the benefit of the Iraqi people as a whole”. AmR (P) 1