Bad weather earlier in the day had prevented loading. A massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday had halted operations at Ceyhan and stopped key crude oil flows from Iraq and Azerbaijan.
The Vallesina was shown at a jetty at the Botas Ceyhan terminal on Tuesday evening local time, based on Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking. A trading source said the vessel was given the all clear to load from storage.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s crude oil pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port was still halted, an industry familiar with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oil operations said.
The pipeline is expected to resume flows to Ceyhan late on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to an Iraqi oil ministry source.
The Alfa Baltica and the Nordlotus tankers were waiting in the area for the Azeri crude BTC terminal at Ceyhan to reopen.
The BTC terminal is not expected to resume until Feb. 8 or 9, according to shipping and trading sources, as damage at the terminal was being assessed.
Two sources with direct knowledge added the BTC pipeline is working and continues to transport oil to Ceyhan.
Oil production at the BP-led Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli project in Azerbaijan continues as a result, the sources said.
Reuters
