Iraq's oil tanker company confirmed on the 3rd that it has used a large tanker to transport 2 million barrels of crude oil out of the Strait of Hormuz for delivery to buyers waiting outside the strait.

According to company executives, this marks the first time in decades that the state-owned company has used this method for delivery.

It is understood that other Gulf oil-producing countries have long adopted ship-to-ship transfer methods to deliver outside the strait, and Iraq has been "late to the party."

Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar, president of the Iraqi Oil Tanker Company, said in a statement that the ship-to-ship transfer method enables the State Oil Marketing Organization to gain more initiative and flexibility in selling oil and pricing.

Iraq previously delivered oil mainly at the southern oil port of Basra. After the outbreak of the Iran conflict, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted.

To encourage buyers to "pick up the goods themselves," Iraq expressed willingness to offer a discount of more than $20 per barrel.

However, because neighboring countries also cut prices to sell oil and shipping risks were too high, Iraq's oil sales channels did not open up.

Ali Nizar, director of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization, said: "Competition is very fierce. Kuwait and Qatar are offering bigger discounts, up to $35 per barrel."

In addition, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries have already moved ahead, using ship-to-ship transfers to move crude oil out of the strait for delivery to buyers.

Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Hussein al-Abadi, speaking in parliament in September, hinted that Saudi Arabia was snapping up tankers and monopolizing shipping capacity, driving up Iraq's oil transport costs. Saudi Arabia denied this.

Iraq is one of the Gulf oil-producing countries most severely "choked off." Before the war, 95% of Iraq's exported oil was shipped out through the Strait of Hormuz, and 90% of government finances depended on oil revenue.

After shipping through the strait was blocked, Iraq on the one hand had to cut oil production, and on the other hand sought to reduce dependence on Gulf shipping routes and promote diversification of oil exports, including exports via Turkey and Syria.