The oil marketing company is the official and responsible part of marketing oil in Iraq. The marketing policy is depending on basic pivot which are competitive, transparency, and marketing flexibility which aims to glorify the financial income for the exporter barrel and being punctual of the policies of OPEC Organization as well as pricing Iraqi raw oil in three main markets (northern and southern America market, the European market, the Far East market) in equal with the other oil prices which are competing with the Iraqi oil.
With knowing that oil marketing company will continue in depending on using the policy of dealing with the final consumer of the raw oil (refineries) and it will do its best effort to make the raw oil as basic oil in those refineries but the confused circumstances of the market, the marketing flexibility needs in some times dealing with some mediator companies which have good reputation but in limited way .
Contact Info:
Dr. Falah Alamri
Director General
TEL:(00964-1)7742040 -7705341756
(00964-1) 7726574
Fax:00873763705020
Website: www.oil.gov.iq.
email: newsomo@yahoo.com
Baghdad -Iraq
Address: Hay Al-Muatsem / Mahala (724) - Street 17/ AL Muthana Bin Hareth Al Shebany – beside fun city - AL Rusapha
Box:(5118)
SOMO, in perspective
The experience of marketing Iraqi crude oil was first came to light through marketing a small quantity of oil which represented a payment in kind made by the major companies, who own and control all aspects of Iraq's infant oil industry at the time, to the Iraqi government as part of the revenue it usually receives for its share in production. Due to inability to sell the tiny cargo according to market post price, it was bartered for medicine with a Greek company. After that experience, a marketing department was established within the Economic Directorate under the umbrella of the National Oil Company (NOC), to undertake the responsibility of contracting and, also, the issuance of the necessary shipping documents from Tripoli port in Lebanon. The aim behind this exercise was to train the Iraqi cadre and make them ready in April 1972 to directly handle the marketing operations of Iraqi crude oil from Fao port in Iraq after its rehabilitation to serve this purpose. After the nationalization of Iraqi petroleum resources in June 1st, 1972, the General Directorate for oil marketing was formed to manage and run the entire marketing operations related to crude oil and products. As a result of the re-formation of the petroleum sector, a merger between oil Tankers Company and General Directorate for Oil Marketing was made, to be separated later to avoid clash in Activities Due to the different nature of marketing operations that require promptness in decisions making especially after the nationalization of oil, the General Directorate for Oil Marketing was detached from NOC and connected to the Secretariat of the Following-up Committee for Oil Affairs and Agreements Execution, and its Director General was entrusted with all executive powers entailed. Later on, the Directorate became known as the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) Upon the abolishment of the Following-up Committee for Oil Affairs and Agreements Execution, a supervising commission on oil marketing headed by the Minister of Oil together with two representative members from presidential council (Diwan) and central bank of Iraq (CBI) in addition to the executive director of SOMO was formed. In 1998, SOMO became Oil Marketing Company ; apublic company registered at the registrar of companies in the Ministry of Trade. Despite the change in name the abbreviation "SOMO" has been preserved as the title of the company in light of its fame in the international oil circles. However, this change came to give SOMO more flexibility and liberty to concentrate on marketing of Iraqi crude oil and products that are in surplus of the domestic needs. The recent increase in domestic requirements for some oil products, appeared in the aftermath of 2003 events, Oil marketing company was duly authorized to import oil products for domestic consumption. In the course of more than 35 years of activity in oil markets, SOMO took a position among the greatest national oil marketing companies in the world as a result of the efforts of its devoted employees and due to the possession of flexibility related to exporting outlets, in view of the fact that crude oil was exported via Al-Basrah Oil Terminal and Al-Amaya Terminal in the south of Iraq on the Arabian Gulf, in addition to the pipelines transferring the Iraqi crude oils to the ports of Turkish Ceyhan, Syrian Banyas and Lebanese Tripoli on the Mediterranean Sea, and the Saudi Yanbu port on the Red Sea over and above the Strategic Pipeline that provides the capability of transferring Basrah Light crude oil form its fields in the south to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, and transferring Kirkuk crude oil from its fields in the north of Iraq to the exporting terminals on the Arabian Gulf. However, the brutal policies of the previous regime who embroiled Iraq in a series of destructive wars have resulted in the obstruction of exporting crude oil through most of those outlets and confine exports to the two southern outlets (Al-Basrah %26 Al-Amaya Oil Terminals) and Ceyhan port in Turkey only.
Below is a list of the names and periods in office of SOMO`s successive Executive Directors and/or Director Generals
1- Dr. Ramzi Salman Abdulhussain From 1972 Until March / 1991
2- Mr. Fadhil Ali Othman * From March/1991 Until March /1994
3- Mr. Saddam Zebin hassan From October /1994 Until July/2001
4- Mr. Ali Rejab * From July/2001Until October/2002
5- Mr. Rafid Abdulhaleem From October/2002 Until March/2003
6- Mr. Mohammed Al-Jubori From June/2003 Until October/2003
7- Mr. Shamkhi Huwait Faraj From October/2003 Until July/2004
8- Mr. Dhia Shamkhi Albakaa From July/2004 Until June/2005
9- Dr. Mussab Haasan Al-Dujayli * From June/2005 Until March/2006
10- Dr. Falah Jasim Alamri From March/2006