Iraq confirms its commitment to the OPEC+ decisions to reduce oil production, its Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani said on Tuesday during a session at the Qatar Economic Forum, which began its work in Doha. The session was broadcast on the forum's YouTube channel.
"Iraq is committed to the OPEC+ decisions and strives to implement them in order to ensure the stability of the [world] oil market and ensure a regular supply of this energy commodity," Abdul-Ghani said.
The minister pointed out that the Iraqi government is currently "focusing on the development of the gas industry." He mentioned two major projects in this area, which are being carried out jointly with Shell and Total on Iraqi territory. In this context, the head of the ministry recalled the "openness of Iraq to foreign investment in the oil and gas sector." He also reported on the two tenders announced by Baghdad for the development of oil and gas fields in the country.
According to the minister, "an Iraqi delegation will go to Turkey to discuss the oil exports from the fields [of Iraqi Kurdistan] from the Turkish port of Ceyhan." He explained that the parties have already signed four contracts and Baghdad is "ready to export oil from the Ceyhan terminals," located on the Mediterranean Sea.
The countries participating in the OPEC+ agreement, at a meeting on October 5, 2022, agreed to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels per day starting from November and extended the deal until the end of 2023. This April, Iraq reduced production by 203,000 b/d to 4.139 million b/d, exceeding the OPEC+ production reduction deal (Iraq's quota is 4.431 million b/d). 10 out of 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries participate in the OPEC+ agreement to reduce oil production, as Iran, Libya and Venezuela are exempt from restrictions.
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Based on materials from TASS