Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani (right) and Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani (middle) meeting in Baghdad on October 27, 2024. Photo: Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday reaffirmed Baghdad’s commitment to agreements with the OPEC+ alliance, including cutting oil production.
Sudani met with Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani and discussed the government’s plans to develop the oil and gas sectors.
“Iraq’s commitment to the agreements within OPEC +, including voluntary production cuts and compensating for excess production, was affirmed according to the updated schedule submitted by the Ministry of Oil to OPEC,” said a statement from Sudani’s office.
Last month, the Iraqi oil ministry announced that it would slash oil production by nearly 200,000 barrels per day to meet OPEC+ demands.
According to an agreement with OPEC+, Iraq is allowed to produce four million barrels of oil per day, of which 3.3 million barrels are exported and the remaining amount is used domestically. However, in the early months of this year, Iraq's production exceeded the limit, with the surplus reaching over 1.4 million barrels per day.
Iraq’s three-year budget, approved in June 2023, requires that the oil ministry sell 3.5 million barrels of oil per day.
Iraq and OPEC+ countries agreed in September to prolong the cuts of 2.2 million barrels of oil per day until the end of November, before gradually phasing out the cuts on a monthly basis from December 2024 to November 2025.
In compliance with OPEC+ production cuts, Iraq announced in April 2023 that it was voluntarily slashing oil production by 211,000 barrels per day.
The cuts have been in place since ministers from the 13-nation OPEC group and Russian-led exporters met in Vienna in October 2022 and agreed to slash oil production by two million barrels per day.
Oil is Iraq’s main source of income. The country relies on it to cover government costs and pay civil servants' salaries.
Iraq pocketed $97.5 billion from oil sales in 2023, down from 2022’s record-setting $115 billion. The country has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, according to the World Bank.
Sudani met with Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani and discussed the government’s plans to develop the oil and gas sectors.
“Iraq’s commitment to the agreements within OPEC +, including voluntary production cuts and compensating for excess production, was affirmed according to the updated schedule submitted by the Ministry of Oil to OPEC,” said a statement from Sudani’s office.
Last month, the Iraqi oil ministry announced that it would slash oil production by nearly 200,000 barrels per day to meet OPEC+ demands.
According to an agreement with OPEC+, Iraq is allowed to produce four million barrels of oil per day, of which 3.3 million barrels are exported and the remaining amount is used domestically. However, in the early months of this year, Iraq's production exceeded the limit, with the surplus reaching over 1.4 million barrels per day.
Iraq’s three-year budget, approved in June 2023, requires that the oil ministry sell 3.5 million barrels of oil per day.
Iraq and OPEC+ countries agreed in September to prolong the cuts of 2.2 million barrels of oil per day until the end of November, before gradually phasing out the cuts on a monthly basis from December 2024 to November 2025.
In compliance with OPEC+ production cuts, Iraq announced in April 2023 that it was voluntarily slashing oil production by 211,000 barrels per day.
The cuts have been in place since ministers from the 13-nation OPEC group and Russian-led exporters met in Vienna in October 2022 and agreed to slash oil production by two million barrels per day.
Oil is Iraq’s main source of income. The country relies on it to cover government costs and pay civil servants' salaries.
Iraq pocketed $97.5 billion from oil sales in 2023, down from 2022’s record-setting $115 billion. The country has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, according to the World Bank.
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