UPDATE 1: Buyer of Kurdish Oil Revealed
United EmblemChemicals firm LyondellBasell has been revealed by Reuters as the mystery American buyer of Kurdish crude oil this year.
“We have canceled further purchases and will not accept delivery of any of the affected crude until the matter is appropriately resolved,” the company told Reuters.
The company confirmed that it had purchased modest amounts of Iraqi crude, but did not explicitly confirm whether this relates to the idle United Kalavrvta pending unloading off Texas amid cargo ownership dispute.
The oil tanker anchored off Texas with a cargo worth USD 100 million was prevented from unloading by a Texas judge, which subsequently withdrew seizure of the vessel for lack of jurisdiction.
Kurdish leadership has encountered numerous obstacles in their attempts to sell oil independently.
Two more tankers had experienced similar issues, the United Leadership, which has been anchored off Morocco for almost two months, which is the second tanker with Kurdish crude pending unloading and United Emblem, which managed to unload its cargo into another tanker in the South China Sea.
All three tankers are managed by Piraeus-based Marine Management Services M.C.
World Maritime News, August 1, 2014; Image: Shipspotting
