Basra, Al Basrah, Iraq

🇮🇶 Basra is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab river. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is handled at the port of Umm Qasr.

The city is one of the ports from which the fictional Sinbad the Sailor journeyed. The city was built in 636 and has played an important role in Islamic Golden Age. Basra is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C (122 °F). In April 2017, the Iraqi Parliament recognised Basra as Iraq's economic capital.

Economy The city is located along the Shatt al-Arab waterway, 55 km (34 mi) from the Persian Gulf and 545 km (339 mi) from Baghdad, Iraq's capital and largest city. Its economy is largely dependent on the oil industry. Iraq has the world's 4th largest oil reserves estimated to be more 115 billion barrels (18.3×109 m3). Some of Iraq's largest oil fields are located in the province, and most of Iraq's oil exports leave from Al Basrah Oil Terminal. The South Oil Company has its headquarters in the city.

Substantial economic activity in Basra is centred around the petrochemical industry, which includes the Southern Fertilizer Company and The State Company for Petrochemical Industries (SCPI). The Southern Fertilizer Company produces ammonia solution, urea and nitrogen gas, while the SCPI focus on such products as ethylene, caustic/chlorine, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, and high-density polyethylene.

Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat, dates, and livestock. For a long time, Basra was known for the superior quality of its dates. Basra was known in the 1960s for its sugar market, a fact that figured heavily in the English contract law remoteness of damages case The Heron II 1 AC 350.

Shipping, logistics and transport are also major industries in Basra. Basra is home to all of Iraq's six ports; Umm Qasr is the main deep-water port with 22 platforms, some of which are dedicated to specific goods (such as sulphur, seeds, lubricant oil, etc.) The other five ports are smaller in scale and more narrowly specialised. Fishing was an important business before the oil boom. The city also has an international airport, with service into Baghdad with Iraqi Airways—the national airline.