Iraqi oil exports hit record level

Iraq exported a record volume of crude during the month of November, the Ministry of Oil said on Thursday.

According to a statement, shipments averaged 4.051 million bopd, setting a new record for the country. Having reached an understanding with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), exports from areas controlled by the KRG were counted towards the total figure.

“In the summer, KRG Prime Minister Barzani met with federal Prime Minister Abadi in Baghdad to reach a practical arrangement whereby NOC [North Oil Company] oil from Kirkuk would flow through the KRG pipeline,” KRG Minister of Natural Resources Dr Ashti Hawrami told TOGY in an exclusive interview this week. “The KRG retains around half of that oil for its export, while it transfers the other half to SOMO in Ceyhan,” he added.

According the Ministry of Oil, volumes exported from Iraq’s southern fields averaged 3.407 million bopd, with another 64,000 bopd exported from Kirkuk. KRG exports amounted to 580,000 bopd, Baghdad said. Based on Hawrami’s statements about the KRG retaining some 50% of its crude for exports, it is equally likely that Iraq’s total shipments over November in reality amounted to 3.76 million bopd instead of 4.05 million bopd.