Iraqi south oil exports average about 3.63m bpd so far

Iraq’s crude oil exports from its southern ports have averaged about 3.63 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in February, up from January’s level, an oil ministry official told Reuters on Monday.

Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the General Manager of Basra Oil Company, told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference that he expects the rate to drop to 3.55 million bpd by the end of the month, in accordance with an OPEC agreement supply pact.

In January exports from Iraq’s southern Basra ports were 3.556 million bpd, the ministry said in a statement, down from a record high of 3.63 million bpd in December.

Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban later said in the news conference that he is “very optimistic” that the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government would commit to honouring an agreement where it hands over 250,000 bpd to the central government in Baghdad.

“I am very optimistic that the Region will adhere to delivering 250,000 barrels per day in accordance with the 2019 state budget,” he said, adding that he had a positive meeting with the Kurdish prime minister. (RTRS)