IRAQ'S OIL EXPORTS 3.9 MBD UP 5.6%
PLATTS - 03 Mar 2020 - Iraq's February crude exports jumped 5.6% from a month earlier as the semi-autonomous Kurdish region's exports rose by more than a third to the highest level since October 2017, according to shipping and official data obtained by S&P Global Platts.
Iraq's total exports, which include those of Kurdistan, reached 3.873 million b/d in February, up from 3.667 million b/d in January, according to the data issued by local shipping agents on Tuesday. The total figure is still lower than the all-time high export rate of 4.145 million b/d achieved in December 2018.
The ministry has yet to release official production figures for February.
The total included exports from the federal government of 3.391 million b/d, which is 3.3 % higher than January's figure thanks to higher exports from the southern terminals despite two days of bad weather in the Persian Gulf. The total also included 482,000 b/d of Kurdistan oil, which rose 33.5% from January to the highest level since October 2017.
OPEC+ compliance
Iraq, which exceeded last year its OPEC+ quota, is struggling to comply with its new production limit of 4.46 million b/d that started in January and will be implemented through March.
OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is in the midst of trimming global output by 1.7 million b/d to soak up excess supply in the first quarter. The alliance is set to meet March 5-6 in Vienna as it mulls shaving another 600,000 b/d from its output due to an anticipated drop in crude demand from top oil importer China, where the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has crimped economic growth.
In February, Iraq said its January production fell 70,000 b/d to 4.47 million b/d, still above its OPEC+ quota.
The latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey also showed overproduction in January at 4.6 million b/d, breaking a four-month trend of improving compliance.
-----