Iraq aims to double oil capacity to 10 mbpd — TradingView News
By N Saeed
Iraq has drawn up an ambitious four-year plan to more than double its crude oil production capacity to nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030.
Iraq’s present oil capacity is officially estimated at just above 4.5 million bpd but only a portion has been used over the past months due to the blockade of Hormuz Strait, its sole shipping access to global oil markets.
Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi discussed the “strategic” plan at a meeting on Tuesday with the oil and finance ministers along with other officials, his office reported.
Al-Zaidi convened the meeting to review the outlines of the 2027-2030 plan for developing the oil sector and increasing export capacity to match Iraq’s vast reserves, the office said in a statement.
“During the meeting, the Prime Minister directed that Iraq’s oil production should be commensurate with its reserves, capacity, and population to meet development requirements and the needs of its citizens,” it said.
“The directives included increasing production in the Kurdistan Region’s oil fields and expanding exploration areas to achieve the plan’s target of reaching a capacity of around 10 million bpd by 2030.”
The statement said Iraq would convene a large conference bringing together major international oil companies to attract investments and modern technologies.Iraq is a founding OPEC member and OPEC’s second largest oil exporter, with supplies of more than 4 million bpd before the eruption of the Iran-US war.
Its recoverable crude deposits are estimated by the Arab Energy Organisation (AEO) at around 145 billion barrels, the world’s fifth largest.Iraq’s southern oilfields are among the world’s largest crude reservoirs, pumping the bulk of the Arab country’s oil production.
Its largest oil field is Majnoon, which means in Arabic “crazy” due to its massive crude deposits and oil production potential, which could reach 1.8 million bpd.
In October last year, Iraq signed a heads of agreement (HOA) with the US giant ExxonMobil for the development of Majnoon.Iraq has awarded nearly 30 oil and gas concession sites to foreign companies over the past three years, mostly to Chinese companies within its licensing rounds 5 and 6.
France’s TotalEnergies is also developing the giant Ratawi oilfield as part of a $27 billion multi energy agreement signed with Baghdad in 2023.Analysts believe Iraq can technically reach the 10 million bpd capacity target but that the increase could create a large idle capacity in its fields.
“Iraq’s production is defined by OPEC PLUS quotas…it cannot increase output at will unless it pulls out of the group,” said Walid Khaddouri, an Iraqi energy analyst.
Over the months, Iraq has intensified calls for a higher OPEC quota, giving rise to speculation that it may copy the UAE in quitting the body.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s top producer, currently maintains a maximum sustainable oil production capacity of 12 million bpd.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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