Iraq oil exports rise to 2.508 million barrels per day in April

Iraq’s crude oil exports rose to 2.508 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from 2.317 million bpd in March as new offshore export terminals helped increase sales, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said on Tuesday.

Iraq aims to double oil output over the next three years as it recovers from decades of war and sanctions and is expected to provide the world’s largest expansion in oil capacity in 2012 as new outlets open.

The opening of two new floating single point mooring (SPM) terminals has eased export constraints and boosted oil exports significantly.

In April, exports from the southern city of Basra rose to 2.115 million bpd from 1.917 million bpd in March, Falah Alamri told Reuters.

Shipments from the northern fields around Kirkuk were at 393,000 bpd for the month, of which 6,000 bpd was exported to Jordan via trucks, he said.

Iraq Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said last Wednesday he expected oil exports for April to be more than 2.4 million barrels per day.