UAE's ADNOC buys millions of barrels of Iraqi crude, sources say

By Nidhi Verma and Ahmed Rasheed

NEW DELHI/BAGHDAD, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) has bought millions of barrels of discounted crude from Iraq's state oil firm, three people familiar with the matter said, expanding its role as a trader amid supply disruptions from the Iran war.

The state company, through its trading arm, was the biggest lifter of Iraqi crude in August and September, two Iraqi energy sources said, helping boost Iraqi exports that had been severely curtailed in the earlier months of the war.

ADNOC agreed to buy 32 million Iraqi barrels in August at discounts ranging from $24.90 to $27 a barrel, and a further 40 million barrels in September, including 10 million barrels at an $18-a-barrel discount and 30 million barrels at a $25 discount, one of the Iraqi sources said.

The second Iraqi source said that while Iraq's state oil marketing organisation SOMO had allocated ADNOC 32 million barrels in August, the UAE giant lifted 20 million barrels due to export constraints and Basra Oil Company's inability to secure sufficient crude.

ADNOC has lifted 14 million Iraqi barrels so far in September, the person said.

A third source said ADNOC had bought about 20 million barrels of crude from Iraq's state-owned SOMO in tenders at a discount of between $25 and $27 a barrel for September through October lifting.

Other companies are also buying Iraqi crude. SOMO offered August-loading cargoes at steep discounts, drawing in other buyers including Chinese state majors PetroChina and Zhenhua Oil, TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, Vitol, Trafigura, Mercuria and Cathay Petroleum, trade sources told Reuters earlier.