LONDON-Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization denied on
Thursday that it is waging a price war against other oil producers
despite its decision to slash the price at which sells oil to its
Asian customers.
In a rare public statement, SOMO said the reason for the sharp
cut was mainly due to changes in the market and wasn't a bid to
undercut other members of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries, and gain market share.
Earlier this week, Iraq cut the January price of its flagship
Basrah Light crude oil for Asian buyers by $1.50 compared with the
December level, mirroring a similar move by OPEC kingpin Saudi
Arabia earlier in the month.
"The said cut was fairly in line with market's structure and
hence, there is no basis for "price war,'" SOMO said.
Iraq releases official selling prices for its crude grades on a
monthly basis, mainly to reconcile shifts in the market with the
price of its oil. However, with the oil market in freefall in
recent months, the changes Iraq and other OPEC members make to
their monthly selling prices have been closely scrutinized by
market watchers.
Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com
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