Al Basrah Oil Terminal
Encyclopedia
Al Basrah Oil Terminal is an Iraq
i oil
port
. It lies southeast of the Al Faw peninsula in the Persian Gulf
.
Al Basrah Oil Terminal is more commonly referred to as "ABOT" and it, along with its sister terminal, the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal
or 'KAAOT", provides platforms from which a large majority of Iraq's oil can be exported.
It was called Al-Bakr Port before 2003, and the current name was adopted after 2003.
ABOT and KAAOT are major players in Iraq's eventual economic stability and therefore is widely considered one of the top terrorist targets in the world due to its importance. The terminals maintain strict security and are guarded by both the Iraqi Navy and Marines and U.S. Forces including personnel from the U.S. Navy's Maritime Expeditionary Security Force
, which falls under the Naval Expeditionary Combat Command.
Units enforcing the exclusion zone around ABOT and KAAOT, Maritime interdiction operations, are conducted primarily by Patrol Forces Southwest Asia
a component of the U.S. Coast Guard comprising Island class cutters and US Navy Patrol craft coastal. MESD 823 currently serves on board ABOT and provides security and security training to Iraqi Sailors and Marines.
The dilapidated and fragile nature of the terminal was featured in an NPR story on June 20, 2009.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
. It lies southeast of the Al Faw peninsula in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
Al Basrah Oil Terminal is more commonly referred to as "ABOT" and it, along with its sister terminal, the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal
Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal
Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal is an Iraqi oil port. It lies southeast of the Al Faw peninsula in the Persian Gulf.Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal is more commonly referred to as "KAAOT" and it, along with its sister terminal, the Al Basrah Oil Terminal or 'ABOT", provides platforms from which a large...
or 'KAAOT", provides platforms from which a large majority of Iraq's oil can be exported.
It was called Al-Bakr Port before 2003, and the current name was adopted after 2003.
ABOT and KAAOT are major players in Iraq's eventual economic stability and therefore is widely considered one of the top terrorist targets in the world due to its importance. The terminals maintain strict security and are guarded by both the Iraqi Navy and Marines and U.S. Forces including personnel from the U.S. Navy's Maritime Expeditionary Security Force
Maritime Expeditionary Security Force
The Maritime Expeditionary Security Force is a unit of the United States Navy within the organizational structure of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. The MESF stems from the Naval Coastal Warfare community which is transitioning to the MESF, Naval units affected range from mobile inshore...
, which falls under the Naval Expeditionary Combat Command.
Units enforcing the exclusion zone around ABOT and KAAOT, Maritime interdiction operations, are conducted primarily by Patrol Forces Southwest Asia
Patrol Forces Southwest Asia
Patrol Forces Southwest Asia or PATFORSWA is a United States Coast Guard command based in Manama, Bahrain. PATFORSWA was created in November 2002 as a contingency operation to support the U.S. Navy with patrol boats...
a component of the U.S. Coast Guard comprising Island class cutters and US Navy Patrol craft coastal. MESD 823 currently serves on board ABOT and provides security and security training to Iraqi Sailors and Marines.
The dilapidated and fragile nature of the terminal was featured in an NPR story on June 20, 2009.