Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy has rejected as incorrect a claim that the Kingdom bought 25 oil tankers, a purchase said to have pushed up the cost of shipping Iraqi oil.

The claim was made during a session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives by Iraqi Minister of Oil Basim Mohammed Khudair Al-Abbadi and Eng. Ali Nizar Al-Shatari, Chairman and Director General of Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO). The ministry said the Kingdom had not purchased the tankers in question, while stressing that this clarification does not affect its full right to take commercial and investment decisions according to its needs and interests.

According to the ministry, the steep rise in oil transport costs stems from other factors, including military escalation in the region, publicly announced Iranian attacks on ships, disruption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, much higher shipping risks and insurance costs, and fewer tankers willing to operate in the area.

The ministry said these conditions have driven regional shipping costs to exceptional levels, and that blaming Saudi Arabia for the higher cost of moving Iraqi oil ignores the real reasons behind the increase.