By Ali Jawad
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AA) – Oil exports in southern Iraq were unaffected by the discovery of a large mine on an oil tanker off the port of Basra, Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) said on Saturday.
On Friday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said an oil tanker was evacuated after a limpet mine was found on it in the Persian Gulf.
In a statement, SOMO said there was no disruption of oil exports from the port. “Oil exporting is continuing as planned,” it said.
The incident came amid a heightened situation between Iran and the US on the anniversary of the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone airstrike in Iraq.
Iraq is OPEC's second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.
*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara
