Tankers Prepare To Load Iraqi Crude

Crude oil traders were getting into position to lift Iraqi crude as Baghdad's one-month stand-off with the United Nations plays out, with nine supertankers waiting in the wings to load cargoes on Tuesday. "There are nine ships on subjects (contract subject to confirmation), but those deals might not all fly," said a London tanker broker. "It all depends on pricing." Iraq said it would seriously consider resuming U.N.-supervised oil sales if the United Nations agreed an unconditional renewal of existing sanctions measures, which it is expected to do at a meeting later on Tuesday. A shipping source said that with 1.4 million barrels of crude in storage at Ceyhan, Turkey, and the pipeline from Iraq still full, things could move quickly. - (Reuters)