Oil spill incident at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal

An oil spill has taken place at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal (BOT) in the Mideast Gulf, partially disrupting crude loading activities, according to trade and shipping sources.

The incident occurred at 03:20 local time, the shipping source said, with loading interrupted at the four BOT jetties. Loadings have continued at the port's single point mooring (SPM) buoys.

A senior Iraqi source said the spill has been addressed and activity should resume as normal within hours, but a market participant estimated the clean up could take as long as four to five days.

Two trading sources said the crude spilt was Basrah Medium. Further details were not immediately available.

Exports of Basrah grades from BOT were 3.29mn b/d in August, according to preliminary Argus tracking.

By Ruxandra Iordache