Disputed Oil News

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.

A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan reappeared unladen on Aug. 19 about 30 kilometres off the coast of Israel, ship tracking data on Reuters showed. This is the second time the Kamari has appeared in the area in the last two weeks carrying Kurdish oil. The tanker Kamari was partly laden north of Egypt's Sinai on Aug. 17, tracking showed, before it turned off its satellite transponder until early on Aug. 19. It was not possible to determine where the oil had been delivered to or who the buyer was. A spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment on Wednesday. The KRG has previously denied selling oil to Israel "directly or indirectly".

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 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)

After a legal show-down in Texas this week, the outlook for a handful of tankers holding some $300 million worth of Kurdish oil is not looking good. Seemingly unable to find enough buyers willing to take a risk on million-barrel cargoes of disputed crude, the Kurdish authorities are paying over $75,000 a day to keep all three far-flung vessels afloat. A fourth ship began filling up at a terminal on the Turkish coast on Thursday, potentially adding to the tally, Reuters reported. Unless they can seal last-minute discreet sales or reach some kind of deal with Baghdad over how to share oil revenues, experts say, chances are slim of unloading ships now dotted around the globe, from Texas to Malaysia. In total, they have already been at sea for nearly half a year.

A tanker carrying crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan is just one day away from arriving at a U.S. port, according to ship tracking satellites, despite Washington's long-standing concern over independent oil sales from the autonomous region. The United Kalavrvta tanker, which left the Turkish port of Ceyhan in June carrying oil delivered via a new Kurdish pipeline, is due to dock in Galveston, Texas on Saturday, Reuters AIS Live ship tracking shows. A sale of Kurdish crude oil to a U.S. refinery would infuriate Baghdad, which sees such deals as smuggling, and raises questions about Washington's commitment to preventing oil sales from the autonomous region.

A Chinese marine patrol has recently finished its third mission to crack down on illegal exploration of oil and gas in the South China Sea. China will further intensify regular patrols of its sea territory to protect the country's maritime interests and rights according to a senior maritime official. "The patrols are part of our long-term, important responsibility," said Wu Ping, deputy head of China Marine Surveillance (CMS), a government agency in charge of maritime law enforcement.

Mauritania's government vowed to use all possible legal actions to try to annul disputed amendments to oil production sharing contracts signed with Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. The dispute threatens to overshadow the scheduled production start-up this month of a major offshore oil project operated by Woodside, which will turn the poor, largely desert-covered West African state into the continent's newest oil producer. Mauritania, whose new military rulers took power in a bloodless coup in August 2005, says it cannot accept the Woodside contract amendments, which were signed more than a year ago by a former oil minister who is now in prison facing trial for corruption.

A group of activists have proposed that the merger of Exxon and Mobil be halted until Exxon pays a $5 billion court-ordered settlement to thousands of people affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The appeal was linked to the oil spill's 10th anniversary on March 24 and the start of the 16th biennial International Oil Spill Conference in Seattle. The event is sponsored by the USCG, EPA, IMO and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association. Washington Republican Sen. Slade Gorton said in a videotaped statement to the conference he opposed the Exxon-Mobil merger until the punitive-damage settlement to thousands of fishermen, small business owners and Alaska Natives was paid.