A letter addressed to President Joe Biden by a few members of the United States Congress alleged and slandered the Iraqi oil sector. The Ministry of Oil responded.
“First of all, everything that was said in the message has no basis in truth,” the oil company stated in a statement that was received in its entirety. They are (allegations) and do not amount to information, as stated in the text. This is the only truth.”
“Iraq is committed to the highest standards of transparency regarding oil production and export, and all data related to this are published regularly and in detail through official channels,” she said. The Service of Oil just arrangements with various legitimate global organizations, remembering American organizations for the fields of creation and advertising, and it has solid relations and associations with these organizations that reach out for a really long time in putting resources into oil fields in different districts of Iraq and standard agreements as per worldwide straightforwardness principles in showcasing Iraqi unrefined petroleum.”
“What was said in the letter regarding Iraq’s role in helping Iran evade sanctions is nothing but allegations and fabrications that have no basis in truth,” she stated. Iraq deals with Iran in the energy sector and imports gas and electricity under the sun with transparent and announced contracts, either for imports or to pay the Iranian side’s bills. This is done in coordination and understanding with friends in the United States. Iraq builds its relationships with neighboring nations and other nations on the basis of respect and mutual interests that are consistent with international laws and is far removed from participating in any activity that violates them. It is committed to international law and respects its international obligations.
“Based on the above, and since the Iraqi oil sector is monitored by regulatory bodies and strict auditing procedures, including contracts for the export of crude oil and petroleum products, including black oil, which are carried out according to mechanisms of utmost transparency that rely on government laws and instructions, this refutes the allegations of fraud and financing of the so-called militias, and the ministry’s connection to the security agencies is regulated by constitutional legal texts, and no party can exert pressure on the ministry,” the Oil Ministry stated.
The service communicated its “shock and objection in regards to what was expressed in the letter about the job of certain authorities in sneaking oil and controlling allotments, and we reject these charges for the sake of Iraq completely and challenge the arrangement of any proof to help these claims. That’s what this service affirms, under the initiative of its Priest, Mr. Hayan Abdul Ghani, it works as per systems the very pinnacle of trustworthiness and straightforwardness. The official internationally approved ports of Basra in Iraq and Ceyhan in Turkey serve as the hubs for export operations, with international institutions (KPLER) providing accurate data on quantities, quality, and tankers for follow-up and supervision. The allegations of smuggling Iranian oil and presenting it as Iraqi oil, as well as the allegations of mixing and smuggling operations through Iraqi oil ports, all of which are subject to the supervision of international inspectors contracted with the Ministry of Oil, are both refuted by any party that can examine and match the data.
“Iraqi territorial waters are held firmly and under strict control by the Iraqi naval forces,” she stated. Because Iraqi oil contracts are structured on a FOB basis and the Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) ceases to be responsible for the oil once it is loaded onto the tanker, Iraq is not responsible for anything that may occur outside of its territorial waters.
“As for the allegations of linking oil and the dollar in favor of Iran, Iraq is one of the countries most committed to international regulations governing the trade of oil and currencies, and we deny the existence of any secret or illegal transactions that enable others to circumvent Iraq, and it is known and announced that all oil revenues are made through the US Federal Reserve,” the statement continued. “As for the allegations of linking oil and the dollar in favor of Iran,”
“The repetition of these allegations from time to time, often with the approach of each visit by a senior Iraqi official to the United States of America, as if the person who wrote them is not happy about the establishment of strong relations and cooperation between two friendly countries linked by an important framework agreement that includes all fields,” the Ministry of Oil stated in its surprise.
