Iraq’s Crude Exports Up in July Amid Higher OPEC+ Quota

Iraq's total crude oil exports, including those from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in July rose 1.4% month on month amid a higher OPEC+ quota, according to oil ministry figures released Aug. 1 and Turkish local shipping reports seen by S&P Global Platts. OPEC's second-largest oil producer saw total exports rise to 3.278 million b/d, up from the June average of 3.232 million b/d, the data showed. The July exports included a 0.9% increase in federal exports to 2.918 million b/d and a 6% uptick to 360,000 b/d in Kurdish exports through Ceyhan, according to the oil ministry figures and shipping data. Iraq's OPEC+ quota rose to 4.016 million b/d in July from 3.954 million b/d in June as coalition members continued to ease their output cuts. Iraq's August quota will rise to 4.061 million b/d as the OPEC+ coalition begins relaxing curbs by 400,000 b/d per month starting in August until December, adding a total of 2 million b/d by the end of this year. Federal exports in July were made up of 2.821 million b/d shipped from the southern terminals, a 1% increase from June, and 97,175 b/d of Kirkuk oil exported from Ceyhan, down 5.2% month on month.

Qayara, Jordan exports

Export of the heavy Qayara oil from the southern port of Khor Al-Zubair remained suspended and crude transported via truck to Jordan has also yet to resume despite a recent agreement between the two countries to supply Amman with 10,000 b/d. The terminal's federal exports comprised of 854,000 b/d of Basra Light, 999,000 b/d of Basra Medium and 968,000 b/d of Basra Heavy, according to July export data released by State Oil Marketing Organization and seen by Platts. SOMO figures also showed that crude oil stocks rose by 1.5 million barrels during July, equivalent to 48,000 b/d. Federal oil sales in July rose 6% to US$6.514 billion to their highest level since January 2020, thanks to an increase in the average oil sales price to US$72/b, the highest level since October 2018.