Shafaq News / Indian Bharat oil company said today that Basra crude exports to Asia were tight amid rising prices, since the United States sought to get more Iraqi crude oil to make up for the cuts in Russian crude.

The company hoped that US SPR releases will help ease US buyers' demand for Iraqi crude, and give Asian clients some space.

Last March, Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization has asked customers to provide their 2022 term crude requirements for three crudes, excluding Basrah Light, according to Iraqi sources and traders, as the marketer focuses on its more popular Basrah grades.

Basrah Medium has become SOMO's most popular grade, particularly in Asia, after it was split from Basrah Light to address quality fluctuation issues with the country's biggest crude stream, Basrah Light, arising from heavier crude fields coming online. The move essentially cut in half the volume of crude marketed as Basrah Light.

Starting in May, the United States will release 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil for six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), he said.

"It's also a moment of patriotism," President Joe Biden said, as he asked oil company executives to serve their customers and American families, instead of the investors they have rewarded with billions of dollars in dividends.

He also called on Congress to make companies pay a fee if they are sitting thousands of unused oil and gas leases and wells on public lands.

Biden's 180 million-barrel release is equivalent to about two days of global demand, and marks the third time Washington has tapped the SPR in the past six months.