“At the moment, our situation, when it comes to production, is excellent thanks to God, and we stand at the threshold of 5 million bpd. The federal government plans to reach 7 million bpd by 2022,” Jabbar al-Luaibi, the Iraqi oil minister, told journalists in Kuwait on Wednesday.
He added that the refineries, Siniya, Haditha, Qayyara, and Kisk, destroyed by ISIS, have been rebuilt in northern Iraq.
“Now we produce from these refineries about 70,000 bpd,” Luaibi added.
Currently Iraq’s reserves stand at around 145 billion barrels, but the minister is confident that the reserves can be increased to 250 billion barrels with further exploration.
Last Thursday, the Iraqi oil ministry signed a contract with Ranya International to build a refinery in Kirkuk with a capacity of 70,000 bpd.
The refinery project is part of strategic projects by the ministry to increase Iraq’s production of oil derivatives.
Iraq and Jordan signed an agreement for a twin oil and gas pipeline from Basra to the port city of Aqaba on February 6.
