Iraq seeks to increase its share in OPEC production
Baiji oil refinery north of Baghdad. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq revealed its intention to discuss increasing its share of oil production with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, announced on Saturday that Iraq is keen on maintaining the stability of oil prices at a level that does not exceed 100 USD per barrel.
Al-Sudani stressed that Iraq, which is a member of OPEC, will hold discussions with members of the organization in order to reconsider and increase its production share.
Al-Sudani mentioned that Iraq is keen to abide by the policies and decisions of OPEC, but at the same time, he believes that Iraq must reconsider its quota.
The Iraqi Prime Minister explained that the reason behind this decision is Iraq’s need for funds for the reconstruction of the country.
“Iraq is keen on the stability of energy prices. We do not want oil prices to rise above 100 USD, or to decrease in a way that affects the level of supply and demand,” Al-Sudani clarified.
Al-Sudani’s government took office last month, ending more than a year of deadlock since the last parliamentary elections took place.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced on November 1 that oil export revenues for October exceeded nine billion USD, with an average price of 88.31 USD per barrel, according to the Iraqi news Agency (INA).
Statistics issued by the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) revealed that the total exports of crude oil during October exceeded 104.83 million barrels with revenues exceeding 9.25 billion USD.
SOMO added that the average daily quantities of oil exports exceeded 3.83 million barrels with an average price of 88.31 USD per barrel.