Tanker Carrying Kurdish Crude Changes Course toward Cyprus
A tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of Kurdish crude oil has changed its destination to Limassol, Cyprus, as it returned from the United States without delivering its disputed cargo to a New Jersey refiner. The Minerva Joy tanker had previously listed its destination as "Gibraltar orders," which usually implies a destination in the Eastern Mediterranean or further east. It changed its destination to "Limassol orders" at around 1600 GMT on Saturday, according to Reuters AIS Live shiptracking. On Aug. 13, the Minerva Joy began sailing eastwards from off the coast of Paulsboro, New Jersey, after refiner Axeon Specialty Products said it would not buy or accept delivery of any cargoes of disputed Kurdish crude oil for its Paulsboro refinery.
US Refineries Cease Purchase of Kurdish Oil
U.S. refiners will refrain from buying Kurdish crude oil until a long-running dispute between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan is settled, while Washington urges both sides to set aside their differences and helps them tackle Sunni militants. The two known U.S. buyers of Kurdish crude oil have now rejected delivery of cargoes from tankers near New Jersey and Texas, saying they will not make further purchases until it is determined who has the right to sell the oil: the central government of Iraq or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). U.S. refiner Axeon Specialty Products was the latest company to turn away a cargo of Kurdish crude oil on Monday. It balked after Baghdad filed a lawsuit over a cargo slated for another U.S. refiner, LyondellBasell NV.
Axeon: No Additional Kurdish Crude Buys
U.S. refiner Axeon Specialty Products said it won't buy or accept delivery of any cargoes of disputed Kurdish Shaikan crude oil for its Paulsboro, New Jersey refinery, according to a press release received on Monday. Several cargoes of the oil have recently reached U.S. soil and Iraq's central government has moved to block independent exports of crude by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Earlier this month, refiner LyondellBasell, confirmed it recently purchased "modest quantities" of what public records show is Kurdish Shaikan crude and said it would scrap further purchases of the disputed oil for the time being. Reporting By Terry Wade
Axeon Imported Kurdish Oil for its US Refinery in June
Axeon Specialty Products said on Friday it received a cargo of Kurdish Shaikan crude oil in June at its Paulsboro refinery in the United States. Several cargoes of the oil have recently reached U.S. soil and Iraq's central government has moved to block independent exports of crude by the Kurdistan Regional Government. "Axeon SP was the importer of record for the June shipment," a company official said. "We purchased this cargo on a delivered Paulsboro, New Jersey basis from a reputable supplier." On Thursday, refiner Lyondell Basell, confirmed it recently purchased "modest quantities" of what public records show is Shaikan crude but said it would scrap further purchases of the disputed oil for the time being. (Reporting By Terry Wade)
