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Iraq: There's Capacity to Increase Oil Production by 200,000 bpd on Demand

Oilfield in Iraq - Filephoto/Reuters
Oilfield in Iraq - Filephoto/Reuters
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Iraq: There's Capacity to Increase Oil Production by 200,000 bpd on Demand

Oilfield in Iraq - Filephoto/Reuters
Oilfield in Iraq - Filephoto/Reuters

Iraq has the capacity to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) this year if asked, an executive of Iraq’s Basra Oil Co. (BOC) revealed on Friday.

“If Iraq is asked to increase production, we can add 200,000 barrels until the end of the year as available production capacity,” Hassan Mohammed, deputy BOC manager in charge of oilfields and licensing rounds affairs, said in an interview with Reuters.

“But (to produce) more than this amount, (we) need more time.” The increase will come from West Qurna 1 oilfields and other oilfields developed by Iraqi state-run oil companies, Mohammed added.

This comes two weeks after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia as part of his first trip to the Middle East as US president, hoping to strike a deal on oil production to help drive down gasoline prices.

Oil prices have rocketed to their highest levels since 2008, climbing above $139 a barrel in March, after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.” Prices have slipped since then.

Separately, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina bought 10 percent of Exxon Mobil’s stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 1 oilfield, increasing its share to 20 percent, while BOC bought 22.7 percent of the field.

In January, the Iraqi government gave its approval for the Iraqi National Oil Company to acquire Exxon Mobil Corp’s stake in the giant West Qurna 1 oilfield.

West Qurna 1, in southern Iraq, is one of the world’s largest oilfields with recoverable reserves estimated at more than 20 billion barrels. It produces around 550,000 barrels per day, Mohammed said.

State-run Basra Oil Company told Reuters last year Exxon was seeking to sell its 32.7 percent stake in the field for $350 million.

OPEC’s second-largest oil producer can increase its export capacity by 3 million barrels per day (bpd) if within two years Iraq upgrades its key undersea oil exports pipelines and its two onshore ports, Mohammed said.

He also said a third oil pipeline at the Khor al-Amaya oil terminal in southern Iraq and a fifth single point mooring (spm) will be operational with capacity of 1 million barrels per day by the end of 2024.

Iraq’s exports 3.3 million barrels per day. China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp (CPECC) has won a $300 million contract to build an energy station at giant Rumaila oilfield in Iraq, he added.

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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after inflation across the UK fell below its target rate of 2%.
The bank said its rate-setting panel lowered the benchmark rate to 4.75% — its second cut in three months — though its governor Andrew Bailey cautioned that interest rates would not be falling too fast over coming months.
“We need to make sure inflation stays close to target, so we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” he said. “But if the economy evolves as we expect it’s likely that interest rates will continue to fall gradually from here.”
In the year to September, UK inflation stood at 1.7%, its lowest level since April 2021 and below the central bank’s target rate of 2%, The Associated Press reported.
Central banks worldwide dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs.
As inflation rates have recently fallen from multi-decade highs, the central banks have started cutting interest rates.
Economists have warned that worries about the future path of prices following last week's tax-raising budget from the new Labour government and the economic impact of US President-elect Donald Trump may limit the number of cuts next year.
The decision comes a week after Treasury chief Rachel Reeves announced around 70 billion pounds ($90 billion) of extra spending, funded through increased business taxes and borrowing. Economists think that the splurge, coupled with the prospect of businesses cushioning the tax hikes by raising prices, could lead to higher inflation next year.
The rate decision also comes a day after Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election. He has indicated that he will cut taxes and introduce tariffs on certain imported goods when he returns to the White House in January. Both policies have the potential to be inflationary both in the US and globally, thereby prompting Bank of England policymakers to keep interest rates higher than initially planned.