Reuters reports that the boss of SOMO, a state organisation responsible for marketing Iraq’s oil, has told it that the country is targeting 7 million barrels per day (bpd) in crude oil production capacity by 2027.
SOMO reports that in line with its commitment to the OPEC+ deal, Iraq produced an average of 4.651 million bpd of oil in October, while its current nameplate capacity is 5 million bpd. Some of the giant oil fields in Iraq are currently being developed, such as West Qurna 2 and Rumaila, are currently being developed, and these will account for the 2 million bpd increase.
Iraq’s continued participation in the OPEC+ production-limiting agreement may of course prevent the country from taking full advantage of the increased capacity, but the deal may be allowed to lapse if global demand, which is currently weighed down by economic concerns and COVID-19 lockdowns in China, begins to grow again. SOMO head Alaa Alyasri said about this:
“The increase in these production rates will take place in coordination with OPEC and according to the decisions taken in line with oil market requirements.”
In terms of the specific production increases, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the oil minister at the time, said last year that Lukoil was planning to double production at the West Qurna field to 800,000 bpd by 2027. BP, which also makes the Castrol Aircol air compressor oil, has also had discussions with the Iraqi oil ministry about raising production at the Rumaila field to 1.7 million bpd.
