The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced a plan to increase its crude production to 6 million barrels per day by 2028, as part of a larger project to raise revenues.
The Iraqi News Agency quoted Bassem Mohammed Khudair, Deputy Minister of Oil, as saying, “The ministry has an ambitious plan to support and maintain production to secure the quantities required for export.”
He added that the ministry seeks to reach 6 million barrels per day by 2028, and achieve self-sufficiency in the amount of gas required for energy and industrial uses.
Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest producer of crude oil, with an average daily production of 4.6 million barrels per day under normal conditions, apart from production cut agreements.
Iraq is trying to maximize its financial revenues by increasing the quantities of oil production and associated natural gas, at a time when total oil revenues in 2023 amounted to about $97.6 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Oil.
About a week ago, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said that Baghdad intends to offer 10 gas exploration areas to American companies.
In a bidding round held last May that included 29 oil and gas projects, Chinese companies won 10 of the oil and gas exploration fields and blocks on offer.
Last Thursday, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said that Iraq had reduced its oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day, starting from August 27.
She added that this reduction will continue during the coming months to ensure that production is within the quota set by the OPEC Plus alliance, as well as to compensate for the additional quantities produced during previous months.
Iraq’s average crude oil exports were 3.48 million barrels per day in July and 3.41 million barrels per day in June.
Last August, Reuters reported that Iraq intends to reduce its oil production to between 3.85 million and 3.9 million barrels per day in September.
