Iraq to Rival Saudi Arabia in OPEC Oil Stakes

A surge from Iraq’s oil fields will occupy Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries crude producers in coming years as the recovering country’s output challenges that of Saudi Arabia, observers said as the cartel held its latest meeting.

Iraq has signed several contracts this month with foreign oil companies and said it could raise production to 12 million barrels a day by 2016–a level to rival Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani insisted Iraq will have a strong market for this oil in the coming decades, despite pressure from world powers to reduce use of carbon fuels to protect the environment.

“We expect the demand for oil to increase over the coming 20 years,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting.

“There is definitely a need in the market for additional production and…there is no better place than Iraq to provide it.”

Dow Jones Newswires