Iraq wants to boost its oil output to 8 million b/d by 2027: minister

Iraq wants to boost its oil production to 8 million b/ by 2027, the country's oil minister told state-run Iraqi News Agency on Aug. 10, as OPEC's second biggest producer targets a higher output level than previous plans.

Ihsan Ismaael didn't disclose to INA any other details about the ministry's plan. Iraq has a current oil production capacity of around 5 million b/d.

Ismaael has previously said there are plans to target an oil production capacity of 7 million b/d by 2027.

Iraq's total oil production, including flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, rose 0.6% in July from a month earlier, State Oil Marketing Organization said Aug. 10, but still the country pumped below its OPEC+ quota.

It pumped 3.886 million b/d in July, compared with 3.862 million b/d in June, SOMO data showed.

Higher quota

Iraq's OPEC+ quota rose to 4.016 million b/d in July from 3.954 million b/d in June as the OPEC+ coalition continued to ease its output cuts.

Iraq's August quota will climb to 4.061 million b/d as the coalition begins relaxing production by 400,000 b/d each month through December, adding a total of 2 million b/d by the end of this year.

OPEC+ clinched an agreement July 18 to raise its crude oil production between August and December, while also allocating five members more generous output quotas starting May 2022, resolving a dispute with the UAE that had threatened to destabilize the oil market and the organization itself.

Iraq was one of the five countries that negotiated a higher baseline for its quota, which will rise from 4.653 million b/d through April 2022 to 4.803 million b/d in May 2022 onwards.