Kurdistan/Iraq: First Cargo of Disputed Kurdish Iraqi Oil Delivered to Israel

Jun 20, 2014 | DEBKAfile
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The Liberia-flagged SCF Altai tanker docked at Ashkelon port early Friday and began unloading crude, according to a port source. This may be the first sale of oil by the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) through a new pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, which was built to bypass the Iraqi national pipeline. This trade is bitterly disputed by Baghdad, which has threatened legal action against buyers. Israel has not confirmed whether it is buying the oil for its own use or storing it for transfer to another destination.