Iraq's Oil Ministry has secured an agreement to fund the expansion of the Nassiriya oil field, doubling production capacity to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), but the loan depends on a 2020 budget law that is stuck in political limbo.
The uncertainty around financing a major new source of production capacity is just the latest example of how Iraq’s ongoing political crisis — prompted by a nationwide protest movement, and compounded by conflict between Iran and the U.S. — is disrupting the country’s oil sector.
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