Iraq’s crude oil and product exports dropped by 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 3.7 million bpd, according to data from the Energy Research Unit reported by Shafaq News. This 3% decline comes as the country continues to adhere to production restrictions under the OPEC+ agreement.
However, Iraq has yet to fully comply with its OPEC+ production quota. The country has been overproducing its oil output for years, alongside Kazakhstan and Russia, and has consistently exceeded its set ceiling.
Iraq’s crude production also fell in the first quarter, with output estimated at 3.99 million bpd, down from 4.22 million bpd in the same period in 2024.
Earlier this week, OPEC announced that the eight countries in the OPEC+ group that have been cutting oil production need to compensate for 4.57 million bpd of overproduction. These countries, including Iraq, must offset their excess production by June 2026. Iraq is required to compensate for 1.934 million bpd and plans to do so through monthly cuts of between 120,000 and 140,000 bpd until the deadline.
In addition, OPEC recently suggested that the planned production increase in May could provide an opportunity for participating countries to accelerate their compensation efforts.
Iraq also intends to reduce its crude exports by 100,000 bpd to 3.2 million bpd next month, as per an official source speaking to Bloomberg on Friday.
Iraq and Kazakhstan face growing pressure from other OPEC+ members to comply with the agreed production cuts. Since the first OPEC+ deal in 2016, several member countries have struggled with overproduction, undermining the effectiveness of the cuts and complicating the tracking of OPEC+ oil supply to the market.
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