Iraq’s oil output in January will equal the production cuts to be made by fellow Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members Algeria, Ecuador and Angola, estimates from an independent energy analysis firm and OPEC showed.

“Iraq’s crude export volumes could end the year on a high note if flows in the last week of December are not interrupted by bad weather, bomb attacks or technical mishaps. Iraq is OPEC’s only member without a production target,” said Energy Intelligence.
Iraq’s total production is expected to surge beyond 2.5 million barrels per day in January. Its exports would stand at 1.88 million bpd, almost equal to what the world’s third highest oil producer Iran will be shaving off its output as a commitment to OPEC cuts.
Volume of for-export Iraqi crude – which is supposed to be of high quality – will also be higher than the cuts shared by two other major oil producers Kuwait and Nigeria, OPEC data showed yesterday.
The hydrocarbon-rich country, which is recovering from years of turmoil, plans to boost its production capacity to five million bpd by 2010. Iraq’s oil production in December will stand at 240,000 bpd above November. The swell in output will be contributed to equally from the country’s oilfields in the north and in the south.
Although Iraq is a member of OPEC, it has not been given a production or cut target considering the political and economic turmoil it is experiencing. OPEC is to shave 4.2 million bpd of production – adding all the cuts approved since September – as a measure to control free falling prices.
The list of cuts shared by individual OPEC members does not mention Iraq, which has the second-highest oil reserves (200 trillion barrels) in the world, after Saudi Arabia.
Robin Mills, a Dubai-based petroleum economist, recently termed Iraq a “wild card” in OPEC’s system, and said the country will play a crucial role in determining oil prices in the coming years.
“Iraq currently produces two to 2.5 million bpd. It has plans to produce five to six million barrels a day. Technically it is possible. But then if that happens, Iraq will have to find a way to adjust itself into the OPEC system. That level of production can certainly derail oil prices,” said Mills.
Recent developments indicate that Iraq’s oil production is on a path of recovery. Iraq’s oil ministry recently signed contracts worth $80m (Dh293.84m) to strengthen its oil export infrastructure. Iraq and China signed a final contract to develop Al Ahdab oilfield at a value of more than $3 billion on November 10.
(Source: business24-7.ae)