Iraq’s Oil Ministry says it will cut output by almost 140,000 b/d during the first half of 2019 in order to comply with last week’s Opec+ deal (see above and MEES, 7 December). This equates to a 3% cut for Opec’s No.2 producer from its 4.65mn b/d October output, a record high.
The deal comes at an awkward time for Baghdad given last month’s deal to resume exports via the KRG pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey (MEES, 16 November), effectively enabling a 100,000 b/d output boost. State firm Basra Oil is adding production left and right (MEES, 12 October) and PetroChina is on pace to hit 400,000 b/d at Halfaya within a matter of weeks adding another 200,000 b/d to nationwide production (MEES, 23 November). (CONTINUED - 348 WORDS)
