Iraq's oil production rose 3% in February to 4.5 mil b/d, above its OPEC+ quota

Dubai — Iraq's oil production rose 3% in February to 4.5 million b/d, the country's oil marketer SOMO said Monday, confirming another month of output above its OPEC+ quota of 4.46 million b/d.

Exports increased 4.8% to 3.879 million b/d from 3.7 million b/d in January, SOMO said. The production figure is lower than the 4.65 million b/d estimated in the most recent S&P Global Platts monthly survey. Iraqi output rose to a four-month high last month, with exports up at its southern terminals and also from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, the survey showed.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, has exceeded its OPEC+ quota for most of the past year even as it grapples with a political crisis. Since October, Iraq has been rocked with protests demanding political and economic change that prompted then Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to resign in November. In case production is affected at key oil fields, Iraq has rebuilt inventories at its southern crude storage tanks in the last few months, according to the Platts survey.

Mohammed Allawi, the prime minister designate appointed in February to form a new government, withdrew his candidacy on March 1 after failing to win parliament's vote of confidence.

On March 1, President Barham Saleh started 15 days of consultations to name a new prime minister designate as Abdul Mahdi quit his post as caretaker, leaving the affairs of the Cabinet to deputies and ministers.