News

Posted on 11 September 2012. Tags: Oil

Iraq continues to grow its oil production at a good pace. Having recently breached the three million barrels of oil in a day mark, it is now averaging over a month 2.6m b/d, the most in three decades, according to Falah Alamri, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organisation.

With Iran’s oil production having stalled recently, potentially due to oil sanctions or lack of investment, Iraq has now overtaken it to become the second-largest oil exporter in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, making $8bn per month in revenue from oil exports on an average price this year of more than $100 per barrel.

Iraq still has a long way to go to catch up with Saudi Arabia, which, as the OPEC country with the highest production, produces around 10m b/d. Saudi Arabia claims to have one fifth of the world’s oil reserves.

Hadi Abbas, secretary for the Parliamentary Finance Committee, said that they are expecting that higher oil revenues will lead to the Iraqi government approving a bigger budget for next year.