Iraq has tweaked the specification of its crude export grades for next year which included a new medium sour crude grade called Basrah Medium. State-owned oil marketer SOMO has notified customers that the new Basrah Medium has a sulfur content of 3.00% and API gravity of around 27.9. This makes it similar to Saudi Arabia’s Arab Medium, which has 2.75% sulfur content and 27.8 API gravity. The new grade is also comparable to Iranian Heavy, Russia’s Ural, and Brazil’s Mero.
Iraq’s existing export grades Basrah Light and Basrah Heavy will also have new specifications. Flagship Basrah Light will have 2.74% sulfur content and 31.40 API gravity, while Basrah Heavy will have 4.05% sulfur content and a new API number of 24. Previously, SOMO marketed Basrah Light and Heavy with API numbers of 34 and 26, respectively. However, the output from new fields has made both grades heavier in recent years.
