ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's oil exports have exceeded 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, approaching levels recorded before the outbreak of the Iran war, the country's oil minister said on Monday, as Baghdad seeks to restore revenues following months of disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The average volume of Iraqi oil exports this month has exceeded 3.4 million barrels per day through the Strait of Hormuz, Turkey's Ceyhan port, and tanker trucks transporting oil through Syria," Basim Mohammed Khudair told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Khudair said the ministry had worked “around the clock” through the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), its oil marketing arm, to boost exports, which reached three million bpd in September before rising to more than 3.4 million bpd in October.
"The aim of increasing export capacity is to enable the government to carry out its responsibilities and provide the funds required to cover various state expenditures," he added.
The minister said Iraqi crude was being exported to European, Asian and US markets.
The recovery follows a sharp decline in Iraqi oil exports after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, when restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted the country's main export route.
Exports plunged from more than 99 million barrels in February to just 18.6 million barrels in March.
Baghdad subsequently moved to diversify its export routes, resuming shipments of Kirkuk crude through the Kurdistan Region to Turkey's Ceyhan port in mid-March and transporting smaller quantities by tanker trucks through Syria.
The Oil Ministry also introduced new sales arrangements that shifted the risks associated with shipping crude through Hormuz to buyers.
By late September, daily exports had recovered to around three million barrels, although Iraqi crude continued to be sold at discounts of 10 to 20 percent to compensate buyers for shipping costs and security risks, the head of parliament's finance committee told Rudaw at the time.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Sunday called for increasing oil production capacity and revenues during a visit to the oil ministry in Baghdad, saying Iraq was among the countries affected by the ongoing regional conflict.
Zaidi said his government would introduce measures to boost oil revenues and had instructed the Federal Commission of Integrity to investigate corruption and negligence that had hindered the sector's development.
He also tasked the deputy prime minister for energy affairs with overseeing the ministry's operations, including oil production and exports.
Iraq exported around 3.7 million barrels of oil per day before the war.
