Iraq Sees No Early Prospect of Oil Export Increase

Iraqi crude exports will remain severely limited at just 1.5 million barrels daily until Baghdad is able to get foreign investors to boost output, Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum said Friday.

The admission from the newly appointed minister puts paid to Baghdad’s post-war hopes that it might quickly be able to build capacity at Iraqi oilfields without foreign help.

“We are working hard and there could be incremental improvement as wells are repaired and production problems solved, but these would not boost output in major volumes,” Uloum told Reuters by telephone.

“The ministry is going to build new wells in the south and maintain production despite the technical challenges and aging facilities,” he said.
Reuters