Iraq exports rose 0.9% in July amid higher quota
Shafaq News / Iraq's federal oil exports, excluding flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, rose 0.9% in July from a month earlier, the oil ministry said Aug. 1, as OPEC's second biggest producer enjoyed a higher quota level.
Federal oil exports rose to an average of 2.918 million b/d in July, up from an average of 2.892 million b/d in June, oil ministry figures showed.
Iraq's OPEC+ quota rose to 4.016 million b/d in July from 3.954 million b/d in June as the coalition continued to ease their output cuts.
Iraq's August quota will climb to 4.061 million b/d as the OPEC+ coalition begins relaxing production by 400,000 b/d per month through December, adding a total of 2 million b/d by the end of this year.
Federal oil exports from northern and central fields rose 1% to 2.821 million b/d in July from June, while volumes of Kirkuk crude exported out of the Turkish port of Ceyhan fell 5.2% to 97,175 b/d.
There were no exports of heavy Qayara crude or oil trucked to Jordan in July.
Iraq raked in $6.513 billion by selling its oil at an average price of $72/b, compared with $6.143 billion at a price of $70.801/b in June.
Iraq struggled in the beginning of 2021 and for most of 2020 to adhere to its quota amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the oil price rout and the financial crisis gripping the country.
OPEC and its allies have been gradually lifting production quotas this year in anticipation of higher global oil demand as the world continues to emerge from the pandemic.
OPEC+ clinched an agreement July 18 to raise its crude oil production between August and December, while also allocating five members more generous output quotas starting May 2022, resolving a dispute with the UAE that had threatened to destabilize the oil market and the organization itself.
Iraq was one of the five countries that negotiated a higher baseline for its quota, which will rise from 4.653 million b/d through April 2022 to 4.803 million b/d from May 2022 onwards.
The deal also extends the OPEC+ supply management pact to the end of 2022, from its previous expiry of April 2022.
The next OPEC+ meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 1.
Source: S&P Global Platts
