Latest official export figures indicate that federal Iraq exported just 3.306mn b/d in January, its lowest monthly total since September 2017. Exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region also fell – to just 350,000 b/d according to data intelligence firm Kpler – pointing to total Iraqi exports of just 3.66mn b/d.
Federal exports can often be volatile in the winter months when bad weather can impede loadings from Basra, and minimal storage quickly forces production to be reduced. Meanwhile the Kurdistan Region’s 1mn b/d export pipeline links to the aging Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline on the Turkish side of the border is not an ideal route. The creaking pipeline was shut temporarily for maintenance in late September and periodic outages remain a risk. (CONTINUED - 826 WORDS)
