One of Iraq’s single-point mooring export buoys is being replaced, temporarily reducing the backup options for Iraq’s economic lifeblood. Workers attempt repairs on the SPM-1 export buoy on Sept. 8, 2019. (Source: Basra Oil Company media office) BASRA – A single-point mooring (SPM) buoy in Iraq’s Basra Gulf export network has been offline for two months and appears to be undergoing a temporary replacement — removing a key redundancy that helps ensure steady oil sales. The SPM-1 buoy had been malfunctioning since January, when a poorly anchored ship crashed into it, according to a senior Iraqi official familiar with the country’s ports.