Iraq sees oil output at 3 million bpd by year-end

Iraq expects its oil output to rise to three million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this year and sees it growing an additional 500,000 to one million bpd next year, Deputy Prime Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani said on Saturday. Al-Shahristani said Iraq’s program to install new single point moorings (SPMs) would help increase export capacity by an additional 1.8 million bpd by the end of this year.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member’s current output is about 2.7 million to 2.8 million bpd. Iraq’s oil exports in May averaged 2.225 million bpd. “Export terminals and pipelines will not be the obstacle,” Al-Shahristani told reporters. Iraq is rebuilding its oil infrastructure after years of conflict and has signed deals with oil majors to reach a proposed production capacity of 12 million bpd by 2017. Most analysts see six to seven million bpd as more realistic.

Al-Shahristani fended off speculation about Iraq’s ability to reach this ambitious oil development target, saying work was going as planned during a three-day visit to southern oilfields and export facilities. He said he was satisfied with the pace of development at the country’s giant Rumaila oilfield and added output there should reach 1.4 million to 1.5 million bpd by the end of this year. He put current output from the field at about 1.250 million bpd. Rumaila, developed by British Petroleum (BP) and China’s China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), produces almost half of the country’s crude output.