SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Saturday that his country does not have any expectations about whether the current monthly increase in supply of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) by OPEC+ will stay in place, the state news agency reported.
He added that any decision taken by OPEC+ would be based on the information provided by technical experts, and that members of the oil producing group were waiting for reports and research from the market.
Last week, the Iraqi oil ministry said Iraq backs continuing OPEC’s existing plan to raise the group’s output by 400,000 bpd each month since August.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was cautious about increasing or decreasing oil supply because oil markets remained fragile, the ministry said in a statement.
OPEC members and allies have said the world economic recovery is fragile. Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said OPEC expects an oil supply surplus to begin building next month.
The Biden administration announced Tuesday it would release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain, to try to cool prices after OPEC+ producers repeatedly ignored calls for more crude.
OPEC+ plans to meet on December 2. The group has been raising output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) per month, gradually unwinding record production cuts made in 2020 when the pandemic dissipated fuel demand.
