According to Oil Minister Amer Rashid, Iraq could raise its oil output by more than three-fold to reach 10 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current production of 3 million.
The development of new oil fields will allow Iraq to boost capacity to up to 10 million bpd, according to AFP news agency. Presently, there are 74 oil fields in operation in the country.
Rashid also publicly stated that Iraq plans to increase oil reserves to 270 billion barrels by utilizing potential reserves, which would place it as the world’s top oil producer with the largest reservoir.
However, the international sanctions on Iraq have hampered its attempt to expand potential oil reserves. The United Nation’s sanctions have been forced since Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The sanctions allow Iraq to export oil from which revenues are used to import essential products for the country’s 24 million population.
Although Iraq signed contracts with Russian and Chinese oil companies for the development of oilfields, the agreements cannot be executed while Iraq is still under the sanctions. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
