Iraq's Kurdish region commits to trimming output to comply with OPEC+ cuts: Ghadhban

Dubai — Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region has committed to trimming its oil output, the country's oil minister said on Sunday, which will allow OPEC's second largest oil producer to comply with OPEC+ cuts reaching 1.061 million b/d in May and June.

The Kurdistan Regional Government will provide the oil ministry in Baghdad with monthly oil reports, Thamer al-Ghadhban said at a press conference in the presence of a Kurdish delegation, state-run Iraqi News Agency reported Sunday. He didn't say by how much the Kurdish region will cut its output.

The KRG, which markets and sells its oil, has sparred in the past with Baghdad over oil sales and distribution of oil revenue. Baghdad markets its oil through state marketer SOMO.

Iraq will struggle to comply with the new OPEC+ cuts that will lower its quota to 3.592 million b/d in May and June, according to analysts. According to the new OPEC+ agreement, members will curb output most in May and June and then trim production cuts gradually through to April 2022.

Iraq pumped around 4.5 million b/d of crude in March and has a production capacity of about 5 million b/d, Assem Jihad, spokesman for the oil ministry, said earlier this month.

Iraq produced 4.65 million b/d in March, above its 4.46 million b/d quota under the OPEC+ agreement that expired last month, according to the latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey.

The Kurdish region exports around 500,000 b/d of crude, which accounts for most of its oil production