IRAQ DATA: Feb oil output rises 1.6%, breaches OPEC+ quota - SOMO

Dubai — Iraq's February oil production, including flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, rose 1.6% month on month, the State Oil Marketing Organization said March 10, breaching the country's OPEC+ quota.

OPEC's second largest oil producer pumped 3.868 million b/d in February, up from 3.807 million b/d in January and above its 3.857 million b/d quota, the SOMO data showed.

Both federal and Kurdish production rose in February compared with January.

Federal output rose 1.2% month on month to 3.429 million b/d from January, while Kurdish production increased 4.8% to 439,000 b/d, the data showed.

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 an anemic demand outlook.

Oil exports in February rose 4% month on month to 3.395 million b/d, with federal flows increasing 3.2% to 2.96 million b/d and Kurdish flows up 9.6% to 435,000 b/d, according to the SOMO data.

Total crude burn fell 5.5% month on month to 512,000 b/d in February, the data showed. Total crude stocks fell 39,000 b/d in February, SOMO said, without providing the comparative figure for January.