Iraq October seaborne crude exports fall for second consecutive month

Iraq's crude exports fell for a second consecutive month in October, under pressure from OPEC to cut production in line with its quota of 3.905 million b/d, including planned compensation.

Exports from OPEC's second-largest producer in October fell 3.28% month over month, with 3.24 million b/d of crude shipped, predominantly to China and India, according to Iraq Gulf Terminals loading data obtained by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Iraq's production stood at 4.14 million b/d in October, also down from September levels, but still above its OPEC+ quota of 3.905 m b/d, according to the latest Platts OPEC+ Survey from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

In October, Iraq shipped 1.34 million b/d, or 41% of its seaborne exports to China, which took 7.7 million barrels of heavy crude and 34.03 million barrels of medium crude. India received 28% of Iraq's exports, taking 16.27 million barrels of heavy and 11.95 of medium. China is consistently one of the biggest importers of Iraqi crude and has invested heavily in the Gulf country to secure its domestic energy needs.

Shipments to South Korea, the US, Greece, Italy and Turkey in October all fell month over month.