HONG KONG,— Chinese company Anton Oilfield Services Group has sold its first cargo of Iraqi crude oil under a fresh supply agreement with Iraq’s state oil marketer, SOMO.
The deal marks an unusual step that gives Baghdad a way to raise money and pay its service providers.
The Hong Kong-listed firm is among a small group of Chinese independent oil companies expanding their work in Iraq, Reuters reported.
Iraq is working to raise oil sales after the Iran war, now in its eighth month, cut into exports. In recent months, exports have picked up again as steep discounts drew in traders and refiners.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn Saturday, Anton said the agreement will support Basrah Oil Company’s crude sales and cash flow.
It will also build links between engineering and service work, crude sales, and financial settlements, and help Anton and its partners recover payments.
Anton signed the deal with SOMO in September 2026, and will sell an unstated volume of Iraqi oil, mostly from the Majnoon oilfield run by Basrah Oil Company, Iraq’s state-owned oil and gas producer, an industry official with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The official asked not to be named, citing company policy.
In late September, Anton lifted one million barrels of Basrah Heavy crude and sold the cargo to a trading house, the official added.
The company said the agreement also opens the door for it to lift and sell oil from Iraq’s Dhufriya field later on.
Anton won a license in 2024 to develop the Dhufriya field in eastern Iraq, its first role as a project operator in an OPEC country. The field remains in its exploration phase, the official said.
(With files from Reuters)
Copyright © 2026 iKurd.net. All rights reserved.
Related posts:
Iraq – The Cynical Swindle
Iraqi Kurdistan – “Sold Out!” – Part II
Business with ISIS – Updated
Iraqi Kurdistan – “Sold Out!” – Part III
Saddam Hussein’s Enemies: Paving the Road to the Invasion of Iraq
Saddam Hussein was a Friend to the West
The Resurrection (Ba’ath) Party – Before the Iran-Iraq War
The Misleaders: Corrupt, Filthy Rich, and Proud of it
Iraq: Revenge and Corruption
Kirkuk – Wars of Deception And Elections
