Iraq plans to boost its oil exports by nearly 26 per cent to 3.4mn bpd in 2014, according to a federal government official
Thamir Ghadhban, federal Prime Minister’s advisory council chairman, said, “Exports reached more than 2.7mn bpd in February this year, and the rate planned for 2014, including exports from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is around 3.4mn bpd.”
Ghadhban added that he hoped Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government would resolve their protracted dispute over oil jurisdiction and exports in the coming months.
According to available official data, Platts has estimated that Iraq will export 2.415mn bpd in March 2014, up from 2.228mn bpd of exports in January 2014 and an average 2.39mn bpd in 2013.
The council chairman added that under current government projections, Iraq would need 1.5mn bpd or 16.7 per cent of the target production capacity, as feedstock for its refineries to satisfy the country’s expanding domestic need for petroleum products. “Demand is growing by 10% annually,” he added.
Iraq also plans to have 1.5mn bpd of refining capacity in place by 2020, that would enable the country to stop fuel imports and improve fuel quality.
