Iraq begins work on reaching pre-war oil output

Iraq is working to increase oil production to pre-war levels of almost 4.3 million barrels per day, a senior government official said.

The government will rehabilitate and develop southern oilfields whose output fell due to the Iran war, the state-run Iraq News Agency reported, quoting deputy oil minister Nasser Aziz.

Oil companies have been told to reassess field conditions, expedite production and pumping operations and deal with technical and operational obstacles, he said.

The initial plans aim to increase oil exports — particularly through the southern ports — to their previous levels of nearly 3.5 million bpd, the official said.

“The ministry is relying on national efforts, in cooperation with international contracting companies, to restore production capacities that declined during the Iran crisis,” Aziz added.

Priorities include boosting flows through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline via Turkey, expanding alternative export routes, overseeing production at central oilfields, and accelerating the development of exploration blocks alongside associated and free gas projects.

During his visit to Washington in mid-July, prime minister Ali Al-Zaidi will sign an agreement with a US company to revive a damaged oil pipeline that runs from Iraq to Syria, the official Iraqi gazette said last week.

The pipeline, which dates to the early 1950s, linked Iraq’s oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk with the port of Baniyas. It was crippled during the 1956 Suez crisis, before being revived in later years.

Iraq has stepped up its drive to build an internal and external pipeline network following Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The bulk of Iraq’s oil exports pass through the strait. The blockage of the waterway has curbed the Opec member’s crude output to just a third of pre-war levels.

Further reading:

• James Drummond: Iraq urgently needs to find ways of getting its oil to market
• Investors back Iraq’s long‑term potential
• Iraq presses ahead with oil pipeline to Jordan