Baghdad:Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced that the country’s crude oil exports have reached approximately 2.7 million barrels per day, with efforts underway to further increase these volumes through both northern and southern outlets.

According to Iraqi News Agency, Ministry spokesman Salim Al-Rikabi stated that significant efforts are being made under the supervision of the Oil Minister to boost exports amid the global energy challenges posed by the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The Ministry aims to maximize the capacity of the Iraq-Turkey export pipeline as part of this strategy.

Al-Rikabi noted that while the majority of Iraq’s oil exports are conducted through southern outlets, northern exports account for about 300,000 barrels per day. These exports include tanker transport and shipments from the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk, which are significant given the current conditions.

The Ministry plans to increase export volumes through both southern terminals and northern outlets, targeting an export capacity of approximately 700,000 barrels per day via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. Currently, the pipeline is exporting around 300,000 barrels per day, but efforts are being made to reach at least the minimum capacity of 750,000 barrels per day stipulated in an interim agreement with Turkey.

Furthermore, the Ministry is in the process of finalizing negotiations for additional crude oil export pipelines, including the Basra-Haditha-Fishkhabur and Basra-Haditha-Baniyas pipelines, to expand export outlets and improve the flexibility of Iraq’s crude oil transport operations.