Iraqi crude oil production jumped to 3million bpd

Iraqi crude oil production jumped to the highest level in at least 20 years, or more than 3 million barrels a day, said Hussain al-Shahristani, deputy prime minister for energy affairs.

Libya, holder of Africa’s biggest crude reserves, is now pumping “more than a million” barrels a day as its industry recovers from months of conflict, said the Nuri Berruien, chairman of its state-run National Oil Corp.
The following is a weekly summary of Persian Gulf crude and product market news and forthcoming events:

Crude Oil
Iraq’s first single-point mooring facility for oil tankers will begin operating in January, adding 900,000 barrels a day of exporting capacity, al-Shahristani said in an interview on Dec. 22. A second unit will be in place within six months, a third one by the end of next year and a fourth in 2013, he said.

“Iraq’s crude production will rise to 3.4 million barrels a day by the end of next year, and exports will rise to 2.6 million barrels a day, including 175,000 barrels from fields in the northern Kurdish region, next year from a current average of 2.2 million barrels of oil a day,” al-Shahristani said.
Libyan oil is entering the market as the U.S. and European governments seek help from Arab and Asian allies to reduce Iran’s oil revenue in the dispute over its nuclear program while trying to avoid triggering a surge in prices that may threaten the global economic recovery.

Iran will earn $110 billion from crude production in the Iranian calendar year ending March 19, the state-run Mehr news agency said, citing a member of the parliament’s economic committee, Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghadam. The country is pumping 20,000 barrels a day less in the current Iranian calendar year than it did a year ago, Mehr reported, citing a deputy oil minister.

Syrian production has fallen to about 260,000 barrels of oil a day as sanctions curb its ability to sell crude, the country’s oil minister said. The European Union suspended imports of crude from Syria on Sept. 2, expanding sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad’s government for its crackdown on protesters. The embargo affects Syrian exports valued at 3.16 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in 2010, according to the European Commission.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., also known as Saudi Aramco, plans to increase its drilling-rig count by 12 percent next year to 145 units to boost natural-gas and oil output from the Manifa field, said Sadad al-Husseini, a former executive vice president for exploration and development. Al-Husseini now runs Husseini Energy, an independent energy consultant in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Algeria raised the official selling price for Saharan Blend crude, the country’s main export grade, to a premium of 85 cents a barrel to Dated Brent from 70 cents in December, according to an e-mail that state-owned oil company Sonatrach sent to buyers on Dec. 22.

Egyptian oil production averaged about 690,000 barrels a day over the past 10 months, the country’s petroleum minister, Abdalla Ghorab, told reporters in Cairo on Dec. 24 at a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohamed Al-Hamli said a crude export pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz will start “very soon” and that oil demand in 2012 will be similar to that of this year.

Light Products

Iran’s daily gasoline production will rise by 18 million liters, or about 118,000 barrels, next year, state TV reported, citing Alireza Zeighami, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co.

Iraq agreed to buy 1.5 million liters, or about 9,500 barrels, a day of gasoil from Iran for two years in an agreement with a value of $350 million to $400 million, State Minister Ali Al-Dabbagh said.