Record Iraq oil exports from Basra expected in February despite OPEC cut

Iraq oil exports
Iraq oil exports are expected to reach 3.641 million b/d in February, beating the previous record of 3.51 million b/d set in December. AFP/Getty images photo by Essam Al-Sudani.

Iraq oil exports to be cut by 210,000 b/d in OPEC deal

By Florence Tan and Olga Yagova

SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Iraq oil exports from its southern port of Basra are expected to increase to an all-time high in February, keeping exports elevated even as OPEC production cuts take effect this month.

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The country’s State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) plans to export 3.641 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude in February, according to trade sources and preliminary loading schedules obtained by Thomson Reuters on Tuesday, potentially beating a record of 3.51 million bpd set in December.

The February volume includes 2.748 million b/d of Basra Light and 893,000 b/d of Basra Heavy, the documents showed.

For January, SOMO had planned to export 2.627 million b/d of Basra Light and 903,000 b/d of Basra Heavy.

Basra crude accounts for the bulk of oil exports from Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). SOMO could not be immediately reached for comment.

Iraq agreed to cut output by 210,000 b/d in the first half of 2017 as part of the OPEC deal despite Baghdad’s initial resistance to join the production cuts as it needed oil revenues to fund a war against Islamic State militants.

OPEC and some non-OPEC producers agreed late last year to tackle global oversupply and support prices by reducing output.

Iraq’s oil ministry said on Tuesday it has cut oil production by 160,000 b/d since the beginning of January in line with the OPEC decision.

(Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE and Olga Yagova in MOSCOW; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christian Schmollinger)

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