Iraq is on track to record its first year-on-year fall in crude burn volumes in five years following a remarkable counter-seasonal summer fall. Crude burn typically peaks in the hot summer months as electricity demand surges, but August’s 74,000 b/d was the lowest this year. In fact, it was the lowest since April 2013 and followed an unseasonal fall in July (see charts 1 & 2).
Up until July, Iraq had been consistently posting moderate year-on-year increases in crude burn volumes, indicating that full year volumes would be up on last year’s 169,000 b/d average. But absent a surge in the final four months of the year, they are on track to average 160,000 b/d in 2017. (CONTINUED - 753 WORDS)
