Kurdish Oil Offloaded in Croatia

Iraqi Kurds have found a buyer for their fourth major oil cargo shipment in Croatia. Hungarian MOL has bought 80,000m3 of crude, which will be sent to Hungary’s refineries through Croatia’s pipelines, local newspapers Jutarnji List confirmed.

The tanker carrying the cargo entered the Port of Omisalj, Croatia on Saturday, and the crude was reportedly offloaded at the JANAF (Jadranski Naftovod) terminal on Sunday, August 18.

JANAF has a one-year contract with MOL for the transport of 1.3 million tonnes of oil, and the latest shipment is already en route to Hungary.

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has sold close to USD 350 million worth of oil, starting with the first shipment in May this year.

KRG, whose forces are fighting the Sunni militants of the Islamic State with the help of  U.S. airstrikes, have been fighting a legal battle with Baghdad over independent sale of oil.

While most of the shipments have been stopped due to legal and diplomatic pressure from the Iraqi Government, a growing number is managing to find buyers.