Iraq Refutes Reports About OPEC+ Cuts

Iraq has formally denied “baseless” reports that it was seeking to opt out of some of the terms of the OPEC+ agreement to limit oil supplies. In an official statement from the country’s Oil Ministry, a spokesman said the reports, based on quotes attributed to Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, were false.

“The Ministry of Oil would like to categorically deny this baseless statement, and affirm that, to the contrary, Iraq remains fully committed to the April OPEC+ Declaration of Cooperation, and the compensation mechanism agreed to in June, and will continue to work with all of the other signatories in our collective efforts to enhance the stability of global petroleum markets,” the spokesman said. “Furthermore, Iraq’s conformity has exceeded 100% in August, and will continue to perform at this elevated level, while compensating in August and September for the previous overproduction of 850,000 barrels per day, in accordance with the OPEC+ agreement.”

Iraq, along with some other countries that have failed to meet agreed output limits, has agreed to deeper cuts in coming months to compensate. “If the full compensation volumes cannot be made by the end of September, Iraq will request the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) to seek an expedited decision from the OPEC+ countries, immediately after the committee’s meeting on Sept. 17, for an extension of the compensation period to the end of November,” the spokesman said. The JMMC — the ministerial-level body that meets monthly to monitor compliance with the OPEC+ agreement that is credited with rebalancing global oil markets — meets on Sept. 17 to discuss compliance.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell back to $44.25 yesterday.