Shafaq News/ Iraq's agreement tovoluntarily reduce its crude oil production by approximately 430,000 barrelsper day does not align with Iraq's financial needs, economist Nabil Al-Marsoumisaid.
In a Facebook post, Al-Marsoumiexpressed concern over Iraq's choice to cut its production quota under theOPEC+ agreement, pointing out that "OPEC+ production quotas are based on2018 levels, which set Iraq's quota at 4.65 million barrels per day, whileRussia and Saudi Arabia each have quotas of 11 million barrels per day."
Al-Marsoumi noted that Iraq hadalready complied with a mandatory reduction imposed by OPEC+ two years ago,which involved a cut of around 220,000 barrels per day to support global oilprices, criticizing Iraq's agreement to two additional voluntary cuts totalingapproximately 430,000 barrels per day, making it "one of only eightcountries out of 23 in OPEC+ to undertake such reductions."
"Iraq should not have agreed tothese voluntary cuts, particularly given the country's need to produce morethan its current quota of 4 million barrels per day due to substantialfinancial demands driven by increased public spending." He suggested thatIraq should have sought to revise its baseline production level, proposing anincrease to 5 million barrels per day, similar to the UAE's successfulnegotiation two years ago.
Earlier, the Iraqi Ministry of Oilannounced it had taken concrete steps to reduce oil production levels in linewith OPEC+ decisions. The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to the voluntaryproduction cuts agreed upon and emphasized its seriousness in adhering to thesereductions to stabilize global oil markets.
The ministry detailed that it hasimplemented significant measures to lower production levels while working tooffset any excess quantities produced in recent months. Additionally, it hassubmitted an updated compensation plan to the OPEC Secretariat, outlining theactions to ensure full compliance with the organization's commitments.
In July, the ministry affirmedIraq's commitment to the agreed voluntary cuts and stated that it would addressany production surpluses starting early next year. It confirmed adherence tothe agreed production level of 4 million barrels per day for July and thecoming months, with a plan to compensate for excess production from thebeginning of the year through a compensation period until September 2025.
A source also revealed to Reutersthat starting in September, Baghdad plans to reduce its oil production bylowering exports to 3.3 million barrels per day or less, down from 3.43 millionbarrels per day. The plan includes reducing domestic consumption to 500,000barrels per day from 570,000 barrels per day and requesting the KurdistanRegional Government to cut its production to 50,000 from 150,000 barrels perday.