Iraq Oil Output Jumps 11% in October, OPEC Data Shows
Iraq's Oil Production Climbs 11.1% in October, Recording Second-Largest Monthly Increase Among OPEC Members.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraq’s oil production climbed sharply in October, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported, placing the country second among its members for the largest monthly increase.
On Thursday, OPEC published its latest figures for Iraqi output. Based on official data Iraq submitted to the organization, production in October rose by 489,000 barrels per day compared with the previous month.
Iraqi output reached 4.888 million barrels per day in October, up from 4.399 million in September. That represents monthly growth of 11.1%.
Among OPEC member states, Iraq recorded the second-largest rise in production in the world. Saudi Arabia ranked first, with an increase of nearly 1.215 million barrels per day, while Kuwait came third with a rise of 326,000 barrels per day.
Separately, the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that the procedures for sending white oil to the Kurdistan Region have been completed.
Salim Rukabi, spokesperson for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, told Kurdistan24 on Nov. 12 that the ministry expects the oil to be dispatched in the coming days and distributed to citizens.
The announcement comes as a wave of snow, rain and cold has swept across the Kurdistan Region. In several areas, heaters have been lit for more than two weeks.
On Nov. 10, Falah Sayed Mawlood, director general of mineral investment at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources, told Kurdistan24 that administrative procedures had begun to bring 50 million liters of household white oil and 760 tons of liquefied gas from Iraq.
Mawlood said the Region sends a letter to the federal Oil Ministry every year from August to request household oil. This year, it asked for 268,710,600 liters. The Iraqi government told the Region that this amount is not available and that it would send 50 million liters instead. That is 19% of the oil that should be provided to the Region’s families.
Mawlood explained that the quantity requested is based on household statistics that the provinces send to the Ministry of Natural Resources. According to those figures, the Kurdistan Region has 1,343,553 families, and 200 liters is allocated to each family.
The 50 million liters will be distributed first in mountainous areas. For Sulaimani province, Mawlood cited a figure of more than 19 million liters.
With the Iraqi Oil Ministry expecting the shipment to leave within days, families across the Kurdistan Region, particularly those in the mountainous areas, are waiting to see the white oil reach them as the cold deepens.