Arab News reported that Iraq's oil exports are expected to rise to their highest in decades this month and production is on course to more than double by 2020 as it cements its place as OPEC's second biggest producer after Saudi Arabia.

The International Energy Agency said that Iraq's oil production would reach 6.1 million barrels per day by the end of this decade in a mid point scenario from current output around 3 million barrels per day. That prediction would be half of that implied by Iraq's targets signed with foreign oil companies and the IEA which advises 28 industrialized countries highlighted the risk of production rising more slowly than expected. This report anticipates movement toward possible trajectories for oil output lower than that implied by current contracts.

A senior Iraqi oil official said that oil exports were expected to rise above 2.8 million barrels per day this month with shipments on the rise from both the north and south of the country. Exports of 2.6 million barrels per day in September were already the highest in more than 30 years.

He said that “I'm quite confident that if all goes well exports will increase to at least 2.8 million the official who declined to be identified. Iraq's supergiant southern oilfields are set to contribute about 2.4 million barrels per day of Basra crude to the export total while the northern oilfields are due to crank out around 450,000 barrels per day of Kirkuk.”

Source - Arabnews.com

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