Iraq targets 10 million barrels a day in oil output

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Friday that he wants to raise the country's oil production to as much as 10 million barrels per day within six years.

“We are working to increase Iraq's share within the OPEC+ framework, and we aim to reach a production of 9 to 10 million barrels per day in six years,” Zaidi told a panel in Baghdad.

Baghdad recently asked OPEC to increase its production quota because of the impact of the Middle East war between Iran and the United States. Crude oil sales account for nearly 90 percent of Iraq's revenue.

Before the conflict began, Iraq produced around four million barrels per day and exported an average of 105 million barrels per month, mostly from its Basra oil terminal through the Strait of Hormuz.

The war disrupted the waterway, and Iraq was forced to halt production in most of its oil fields as reservoirs filled up. Iraq began exporting crude by tanker trucks through Syria and by pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz poses a major challenge,” Zaidi said.

He said Baghdad was working to increase oil exports through Ceyhan, Baniyas in Syria and Aqaba in Jordan.

After a drop linked to the Hormuz disruption, Iraqi oil exports recovered slightly to around 49 million barrels in July, with more than 30 million barrels still passing through the strait.

In the first two weeks of August, Iraq exported an average of two million barrels per day, its highest level since the start of the Middle East war.

Iraqi authorities are seeking to diversify the economy while the country remains heavily dependent on foreign currency earnings from oil sales.