Iraq Appoints Ali Al-Shatari as Director General of Oil Marketer SOMO

A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iraq Appoints Ali Al-Shatari as Director General of Oil Marketer SOMO

A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)
A special forces soldier waves an Iraqi flag from the top of a church damaged by ISIS forces in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. (Reuters)

Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), appointed a new chief for national oil marketer SOMO, the company said on Thursday.

Ali al-Shatari will become the director general of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), succeeding Khudhyer Abed, also taking over as Iraq's governor in OPEC, according to Reuters.

SOMO, which markets all Iraqi oil, is expected to begin handling oil output from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region after the end of an almost two-year dispute with the government in Baghdad.



Riyadh Air Willing to Buy Boeing Planes from Cancelled Chinese Orders

Riyadh Air aircraft. (SPA)
Riyadh Air aircraft. (SPA)
TT
20

Riyadh Air Willing to Buy Boeing Planes from Cancelled Chinese Orders

Riyadh Air aircraft. (SPA)
Riyadh Air aircraft. (SPA)

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas on Monday said that the Saudi startup carrier would be ready to buy Boeing aircraft destined for Chinese airlines if they are not delivered due to the escalating trade war between the United States and China.

Boeing is looking to resell potentially dozens of planes locked out of China by tariffs after repatriating a third jet to the United States in a delivery standoff that drew new criticism of Beijing from US President Donald Trump.

"What we've done... is made it quite clear to Boeing, should that ever happen, and the keyword there is should, we'll happily take them all," Douglas said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market conference.

Boeing took the rare step of publicly flagging the potential aircraft sale during an analyst call last week, saying that there would be no shortage of buyers in a tight jet market.