US-Iran war costs Iraq 300M+ oil barrels

Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated at 15:07)

Iraq lost an estimated 302.8 million barrels of oil production during the first half of 2026 as the US-Iran war disrupted extraction and exports through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Eco Iraq Observatory.

The watchdog placed total production at about 440.3 million barrels between January and June. Daily volumes remained above 4.1 million barrels during the first two months of the year before the conflict sharply reduced operations, with output falling to 1.906 million barrels per day in March, 1.633 million in April, and a low of 1.406 million in May. The figure edged up to 1.525 million barrels per day in June.

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

Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, relies on crude sales for about 90% of state revenue, leaving its economy highly vulnerable to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies. In late March, economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi estimated that the country had cut output by around 2.9 million barrels per day, the steepest reduction among OPEC members.

Despite the disruption, shipping data from Kpler and Vortexa showed Iraq recorded the largest month-on-month increase in crude exports among Gulf producers during the first half of July, as Gulf countries’ crude and condensate shipments rose about 16% from the June average.

Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed

The United States and Iran exchanged fire for an eighth consecutive night, with Washington striking Iranian military infrastructure and Tehran claiming retaliatory drone operations against US installations in Kuwait.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday reported intercepting two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, while two others allegedly reversed course after receiving warnings. It accused all four ships of disabling their navigation systems and attempting to cross through “an unsafe route” with US backing.

Oil, gas, and chemical fertilizer cargoes would not be permitted to pass without Iranian authorization, the IRGC warned, maintaining that it controls the waterway and that vessels using unapproved routes could face “inevitable incidents.”