Iraq exported 2.225mn bpd of crude oil in May, up 84,000 bpd from April and the highest level since the 2003 war.
The new heights came from increased loadings from the south reported Platts, which quoted figures from State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).
Southern exports rose by 69,000 bpd in May to 1.725mn bpd, while northern exports jumped from 500,000 bpd, a 49,000 bpd increase over April’s numbers. Northern exports were boosted by the steady rise in Kurdish output following the resumption of crude exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on February 2.
On the production side, production in the south is estimated at 1.955mn bpd, a 70,000 bpd increase over actual April output.
Northern production was calculated at 710,000 bpd, slightly below actual output of 739,000 bpd in April, of which Kurdish output accounted for 135,000 bpd of the northern total, up from 120,000 bpd in April as output from the key producing fields of Tawke and Taq Taq was ramped up.
The estimated fall in northern production is attributed to the latest decline in production from the giant Kirkuk oil field.
According to Platts, citing Industry sources, there was currently an estimated 4.3mn barrels of crude in storage in the south at the end of May, up from 3.7mn barrels at the end of April.
