US bought zero Iraqi crude for three straight weeks to 9 October

Summary

• US imports of Iraqi crude registered zero in the weeks ending 25 September, 2 and 9 October 2026.
• Iraq had shipped 46,000 and 51,000 barrels per day in early and mid-September.
• The shutout narrows SOMO's outlets as overall US crude buying from main suppliers rises.

The latest

US imports of Iraqi crude oil fell to zero for three consecutive weeks, according to preliminary weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration released on 15 October 2026. The blank weeks ended 25 September, 2 October and 9 October 2026. Over the same stretch, total American crude purchases from its ten main suppliers moved higher, leaving Iraq outside an expanding market.

Details

• The figure: EIA's preliminary weekly table recorded no barrels of Iraqi crude entering the United States in the weeks ending 25 September, 2 October and 9 October 2026. The series is published weekly by country of origin and is preliminary, meaning the agency revises it in later statistical releases.
• What came before: The same table shows Iraqi crude at 46,000 barrels per day in the week ending 4 September 2026, zero in the week ending 11 September, then 51,000 barrels per day in the week ending 18 September. The flow was already intermittent before it stopped entirely.
• The wider market: Economy News reported on 18 October 2026, citing the same preliminary data, that average US crude imports from ten main suppliers reached 5.407 million barrels per day in the latest week, an increase of 329,000 barrels per day on the previous week.
• Also absent: According to the agency's reading of the EIA table, Iraq was not the only supplier recording nothing in the latest week. Argentina likewise registered no crude shipments to the United States over the same period, leaving two origins at zero while the aggregate total rose.
• Who is affected: The exporter on the Iraqi side is the State Organization for Marketing of Oil, SOMO, the entity responsible for selling Iraqi crude abroad. Three consecutive empty weeks in the US series narrow one of its destination markets at a time when it is competing for buyers elsewhere.
• Revenue backdrop: Iraqi oil revenues declined 53% over seven months, a drop that frames why the loss of even a modest American outlet carries weight. Iraqi crude volumes to the United States had been running in the tens of thousands of barrels per day, a small share of total exports.
• No explanation given: Neither the EIA series nor the Iraqi agency's report identified a reason for the halt. The weekly data record volumes by country of origin only, without commercial detail on cargo scheduling, buyer contracts or refinery demand behind any individual week.
• Reading the series: Weekly import figures swing sharply because they track physical cargo arrivals rather than contracted sales, so a single delayed or rerouted shipment can register as a zero week. The 11 September blank followed by a 51,000 barrels per day week illustrates that volatility.

Background

The United States has long been a marginal rather than a core buyer of Iraqi crude, with volumes well below Iraq's shipments to Asian refiners. The EIA publishes the country-by-country import series weekly, making it one of the fastest public indicators of where Iraqi barrels are landing.

Between the lines

Three consecutive zero weeks coinciding with a 329,000 barrels per day rise in total US imports means American refiners were buying more crude overall while taking none from Iraq. Given the volatility already visible in the September numbers, one quiet week would carry little signal; a run of three alongside rising aggregate demand is harder to read as routine cargo timing, particularly with Iraqi oil revenues down 53%.

What's next

The next EIA weekly import release will show whether Iraqi crude returns to the US series or extends the run at zero, and later revisions could adjust the September and October readings.

Source: EIA, Economy News