30 January 2018 - 16:00

Iraq exports 3.5 million barrels of oil a day in January

<p style="text-align:left">Iraq state-oil marketer SOMO exported an average of 3.5 million barrels of crude oil per a day during the month of January, SOMO&rsquo;s acting director general Alaa al-Yasiri said.

The amount of exported barrels excluded oil sales from the Kurdistan Region oil fields which SOMO do not control.

Speaking to reporters, Yasiri said “SOMO’s recent export rate increase is not due to higher production, but to a drop in local consumption,” as quoted by Reuters.

According to NRT Yasiri said Iraq could increase exports with new oil trading that will begin next week, between Kirkuk and Iran exports.

Iraq is a founding member of the OPEC cartel and its second largest producer after Saudi Arabia; currently exporting an average of about 4.5 million bpd.

The Iraqi oil minister, Jabbar al-Luaibi announced earlier in December that Iraq signed an agreement with Iran to export crude oil from fields in Kirkuk at a rate of between 30 and 60 thousand barrels per day.

The agreement came after the Iraqi forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed areas from the Kurdistan region in mid-October.

Reporter’s code: 50101

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