Iraq leads rise

摘要

Opec production rose above 30mn b/d in February to its highest level since August, as Iraqi output posted a large gain. Iraqi production hit a post-2003 record of 3.54mn b/d, an increase of more than 500,000 b/d on a month earlier (see table below). Crude exports shot up to 2.8mn b/d from 2.24mn b/d in January. The completion of work to expand export facilities in the Mideast Gulf enabled Baghdad to boost output. Producers had been shutting in some capacity because of loading constraints at the terminals. Baghdad is targeting exports of 3.4mn b/d this year, including 400,000 b/d from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.