Iraq is optimistic that last week’s decision by Opec+ to re-launch a postponed capacity assessment process later this year will enable it to secure a higher quota in 2027. Speaking to MEES this week, oil minister Hayan Abdulghani says “there is traction within Opec+ to re-assess members’ quotas,” adding that Iraq’s nominal crude oil production capacity currently stands “at more than 5mn b/d.” This figure takes into account Iraq’s export capacity.
The assessment is intended to revamp out-of-date Opec+ baselines from which cuts were calculated (MEES, 30 May), with Iraq routinely arguing that its current quota allocation doesn’t take into account capacity increases in recent years. This led to estimates showing that Iraq had overproduced, although MEES calculates that the country produced under-quota last month, ‘compensating’ for this previous overproduction (see table). (CONTINUED - 799 WORDS)
