Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq aims to raise oil production to 10 million barrels per day (bpd), Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s office said on Thursday after his meeting with representatives of a consortium involved in a proposed pipeline project to carry Iraqi crude to Mediterranean and Red Sea ports.

Read more: SCOOP: Iraq in talks with US-Iran over Hormuz oil shipments

Al-Zaidi pledged to remove obstacles facing the project and cut red tape for foreign companies, saying the pipeline would increase revenues, support development, and strengthen Iraq’s role in global energy supplies.

Partnerships with US and multinational companies would benefit Iraq, the premier said.

The statement gave no deadline for reaching the 10 million bpd target. Iraq’s crude oil exports averaged 3.35 million bpd in October, Bloomberg reported.

For a proposed pipeline through Syria to the Mediterranean, Chevron previously told Shafaq News that Iraq and Syria had each signed preliminary agreements with Chevron Business Development EMEA, Urbacon Concessions Investments, and TIC Infra II.