Iraq won’t agree to new Opec+ oil production cuts, oil minister says

Baghdad: Iraq’s oil minister says Iraq has made enough voluntary oil production reductions and will not agree to any additional cuts taken by Opec+ at its next meeting early next month.

Sources with the knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that Opec+, which includes the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other non-opec producers, could extend some voluntary output cuts should demand fail to pick up.

Asked by a reporter whether Iraq would agree to extend the Opec+ voluntary cuts at the meeting scheduled for June 1, Hayan Abdul Ghani said: “Iraq has reduced (output) enough and will not agree to any new cut.”

It was not immediately clear if Abdul Ghani meant he opposed an extension of the voluntary cuts – a statement that would fly in the face of widespread expectations that cuts would be rolled over – or was simply against any additional cuts.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an oil and gas licensing conference in Baghdad last Saturday.

Iraq aims to lure billions of US dollars of investments to develop its oil and gas sector as it looks to ramp up local petrochemicals production and end imports of gas from neighbouring Iran.

Iraq has repeatedly said it is committed to voluntary cuts initially announced by Opec+ in 2023 but pumped over its output quota by a cumulative 602,000 barrels per day in the first three months of 2024, Opec+ said in a statement last Friday.

The group said that Baghdad had agreed to compensate with additional production cuts over the rest of the year.