Iraqi production stays strong in September, but OPEC-plus cuts loom

A Basra Oil Company worker at the Majnoon field's CPF2 during construction, April 19, 2021. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report)

Iraq’s nationwide oil production held steady in August and September at 4.74 million barrels per day (bpd), according to field-by-field data compiled by Iraq Oil Report.*

Output has topped 4.7 million bpd for three months in a row, which will likely be the high-water mark for the year. The government is coming under pressure to reduce output following an OPEC-plus decision to take 2 million bpd off the market starting in November, including a quota reduction of 220,000 bpd for Iraq.

In the past, state-run oil fields in Basra have taken the brunt of OPEC-related cuts. Those fields — Majnoon, Luhais, Nahr Bin Omar, Ratawi, and Tuba — are already producing well below their combined capacity of more than 500,000 bpd. In September they averaged 209,000 bpd.