Tüpraş says previously purchased Iraqi oil to be delivered in September

ISTANBUL

Tüpraş refinery has said that the oil previously purchased from Iraq’s state oil company will be delivered in September.

The oil tanker St. Nikolas, carrying around 1 million barrels of crude oil purchased from the Iraqi state oil company SOMO, was seized by Iranian authorities in the waters of Oman on Jan. 11, the energy giant said in a statement.

“The entire cargo was recovered through a ship-to-ship transfer conducted between July 23-25, 2024,” the statement added.

“The crude oil is now en route to the refinery and is expected to arrive in September,” it added.

Production of Tüpraş, which is Türkiye’s biggest industrial company and leading refiner, stood at 5.9 million tons in the first quarter of 2024.

The capacity utilization was 82 percent in January-March, according to a presentation on the company’s website.

In the first quarter, its domestic sales and exports amounted to 5.1 million tons and 1.9 million tons, respectively.

Last year, its sales were 30.1 million tons, including 23.8 million tons of domestic sales and 6.3 million tons of exports.

The company’s net sales grew 3 percent in the first quarter from a year ago to 165.5 billion Turkish Liras, but net profit declined 89 percent year-on-year to 320 million.

Tüpraş’s total refining capacity is 30 million tons, and its total storage capacity is 8.2 million cubic meters.