Shafaq News/ Iraqi state-owned oil marketer SOMO said on Monday that Chinese oil companies were the largest buyers of Iraqi oil in December 2022.
SOMO said in a statement that Chinese companies bought 12 million barrels of Iraqi oil in December, followed by Indian companies with 7 million barrels, South Korean companies with 4 million barrels, Turkish companies with 3 million barrels, and American, Italian, Japanese, Emirati, and Greek companies with 2 million barrels each. The rest of the oil was bought by Spanish, Dutch-British, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Russian, Malaysian, Azerbaijani, and French companies, each with 1 million barrels.
SOMO said it sells Iraqi oil based on a set of criteria, including the size and financial strength of the buyer, its reputation, and its ability to pay. The statement said that the most prominent global companies that bought Iraqi oil in December included China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Indian Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Eni.
The increase in Chinese purchases of Iraqi oil is part of a broader trend of Chinese investment in Iraq. China is now Iraq's largest trade partner, and it has invested billions of dollars in Iraqi infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing.