Iraqi oil marketing agency denies crude oil smuggling after US sanctions on oil trader

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization rejected allegations of crude oil blending or smuggling in its ports or territorial waters, insisting exports are tightly tracked and transparent.

“There is no mixing or smuggling of Iraqi crude oil or petroleum products, whether in the ports or within territorial waters,” SOMO Director General Sumer Ali Nizar al-Shatri told the state news agency Tuesday. “All tankers are tracked in real time from loading until they reach refineries or importing companies.”

Al-Shatri said SOMO uses advanced monitoring programs such as the Kpler system, and that all sales are handled through international tenders with payments processed via banking channels. Oversight also involves Iraq’s ports company, state oil tanker company, maritime transport company, and security agencies, he said.

His comments came after the U.S. Treasury on Sept. 2 sanctioned Iraqi-Kittitian oil trader Waleed al-Samarra’i, accused of running a network that blended Iranian and Iraqi oil to disguise its origin. The Treasury said the scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars annually through UAE-based firms and covert tanker operations.

Al-Shatri dismissed suggestions of Iraqi involvement. “We have a complete and updated record for every tanker dealing with Iraqi oil, and we work with high transparency with security and oversight bodies,” he said.