Fao project delays to cause massive export shut-in

As Iraq and its oil company partners spend billions of dollars to boost production capacity and exports, one key bottleneck is threatening to decimate their return on investment and shut in hundreds of millions of barrels of oil over the coming years.

The coastal Fao storage depot in Basra is supposed to serve as a critical way station for crude traveling between oil fields and export terminals, storing oil and pumping it offshore to ensure continuous field production and fully maximized tanker loading capabilities. But after years of ongoing delays, the facility will not be fully operational until at least 2018 – preventing billions of dollars worth of exports.