Basra is the center of Iraqi drilling activity: the giant southern fields, the state oil companies that run materials tenders, and the trading houses that keep drilling and workover contractors stocked. It is also the easiest place in Iraq to land containerized chemical cargo — Umm Qasr port is just outside the city. This page is for the Basra buyer: what we supply, what a tender bid needs from us, and how the shipment actually runs.
Three kinds of buyers, and our offer to all three is the same. First, the trading and supply houses that stock mud additives and sell to drilling contractors — for them we are built to be the container-level source underneath the shelf. Second, companies bidding state-company materials tenders— Iraq’s state oil companies procure cement, chemicals, and consumables through public tenders, and the bidder needs a reliable specification, certificate of analysis, and delivered cost before submitting. Third, mud-service and workover companies that buy their own additives for the programs they run. In every case the buyer of record is the local company — we supply it; we do not compete with it in the field.
A materials tender is won on paper before it is won on price. When you bid with our supply behind you, you get the document set up front, not after award:
| Item | What you receive |
|---|---|
| Specification sheet | Per product, stated against API Spec 13A test methods, with the edition noted |
| Certificate of analysis | Format sample up front; a real COA for every batch at shipment |
| Safety data sheet | GHS-format SDS per product |
| Firm price | CFR Umm Qasr, USD, with validity period stated |
| Lead time | Production plus sailing time, stated on the quotation |
| Inspection | Independent pre-shipment inspection at origin, on request or where the import route requires it |
If the tender names a brand (“PAC-R or equivalent,” a branded starch, a branded xanthan), send us the line as written — our equivalents pagesshow how we match branded products class-for-class, and we quote to the tender’s own wording.
Production and loading in China, sailing to Umm Qasr, and clearance by your agent at the port. We prepare documents to your clearing agent’s requirements before arrival, including pre-shipment inspection where your route requires it. Duty on your specific HS lines should be confirmed with your agent — Iraq’s tariff schedule was rewritten in the 2025–2026 reform, and we do not publish rates that may have moved. Payment is staged: 30% with the order, 70% against the shipping documents, so the balance moves only when the cargo is on the water. The banking side — why staged terms fit Iraqi import payments better than large prepayments or letters of credit — is covered in the Iraq payment guide.
In many cases, China-origin product sold into southern Iraq passes through re-traders and stockists in third countries, each adding margin and transit time. Buying the same class of product direct — with the factory audit, batch certificate, and inspection already done — removes that layer. We are a new supplier to this market, so the honest comparison is line-by-line: send us what you buy and what you pay, and judge the delivered difference yourself on a first container. If your current source is better on a line, keep it — we quote product by product.