Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq produced about 302 million barrels of oil in the first quarter of 2026, the Eco Iraq Observatory said on Sunday, urging authorities to diversify export routes beyond reliance on Gulf shipping.

In a statement, the observatory said output reached around 4.157 million barrels per day in January and rose to 4.188 million barrels per day in February, before dropping sharply in March to about 1.625 million barrels per day.

It warned that reliance on a single export corridor exposes Iraq to geopolitical risks and proposed reviving the New Levant route as an alternative to expand outlets, boost flexibility during crises, and ensure steady supply to global markets, especially during regional tensions.

Iraq’s oil output fell from 4.3 million to 1.3 million barrels per day amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, cutting exports to below 800,000 barrels per day and causing losses of about $128 million daily. Despite this, officials say the impact remains contained, supported by government subsidies and foreign reserves of around $100 billion.

Read more: Iraq’s oil bottleneck: Abundance trapped by dependency