Iraq completes repairs at Basra oil jetty, loading operations resume
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) -- Repair work at a Basra oil jetty damaged by a tanker collision last month were completed on Sunday, two officials at state-run South Oil Company told Reuters on Monday.
Crude exports from the Basra terminal were not affected by the collision that happened on March 24, when strong winds caused a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to lurch into berth number 1.
A 1 MMbbl-vessel, the Storviken, was anchored at that berth early on Monday, loading a cargo of light crude, said the two South Oil Co. officials.
OPEC's second-largest producer, after Saudi Arabia, Iraq exports most of its crude from the southern Basra region, on the Gulf. The Basra terminal's loading capacity is estimated at around 1.8 MMbpd.
Reporting by Aref Mohammed; writing by Ahmed Rasheed; editing by John Stonestreet
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