As Opec and its non-Opec allies move to cut a staggering 9.7mn b/d from the global crude markets, the technical and logistical challenges posed by each country’s oil sector – especially those earmarked for the largest reductions – comes to the fore. And for Iraq, these challenges could be insurmountable.

Since the initial 2016 Opec+ agreement, Iraq has proven a serial overproducer. MEES production estimates indicate that, in the 39 months during which the agreement was in place, Iraq managed to meet its production commitment just twice (see chart 1). Even Iraq’s official output figures reveal serial overproduction. (CONTINUED - 1233 WORDS)