Shafaq News/ Iraq increased its oil production by 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision to ease production cuts, according to a survey conducted by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The nine OPEC members subject to quotas collectively boosted crude output by 100,000 bpd in May, driven by higher production from Nigeria and Iraq. This pushed the group's total output to 320,000 bpd above their collective targets, while allies led by Russia cut production.

Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, raised its production to 4.28 million bpd, exceeding its current target by 280,000 bpd, despite agreeing in May to compensate for previous overproduction. The Platts survey estimates current oil production in Iraq's Kurdistan region at 210,000 bpd.

Iraq's output reached 4.28 million bpd in May, up from 4.24 million bpd the previous month.