Iraq's southern crude exports stable at 2.7 mil b/d in Feb: Basra Oil

Dubai — Iraq's southern crude exports have been averaging 2.7 million b/d in February, in line with the country's OPEC+ quota, the head of state-owned Basra Oil Co. said in an oil ministry statement Feb. 24.

Iraq is committed to compliance with OPEC+ output cuts, Khaled al-Hamza said in the statement. Basra Oil Co. manages oil production from the southern fields.

OPEC's second largest oil producer pumped 3.807 million b/d of crude in January, including from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, State Oil Marketing Organization said Feb. 3, below its 3.857 million b/d quota, which is effective through March.

Production from the federal government rose 0.7% on the month to 3.388 million b/d in January, while output from Kurdistan fell 15% to 419,000 b/d, SOMO data showed.

Southern oil exports averaged 2.77 million b/d in January, according to SOMO, up from 2.75 million b/d in December.

Iraq has struggled for most of 2020 to comply with its OPEC+ quota amid the low oil price environment, the pandemic and a financial crisis gripping the country. Iraq's lax compliance, among the worst in OPEC+ in 2020, has complicated the coalition's efforts to balance an oil market suffering from anemic demand outlook.