Iraq Pushes OPEC for a Huge Increase in Its Oil Quota

Iraq has formally asked OPEC leadership to base the country’s future production quotas on a 6 million barrels-per-day baseline, Bloomberg reported in coverage cited by Oilprice.com. That requested figure would be a large increase over Iraq’s recent output levels and would reshape how OPEC allocates quotas among members if accepted.

Official monthly averages show Iraq producing about 3.37 million bpd in August, up from roughly 2.77 million bpd in July, but still well below the 6 million bpd baseline Baghdad is seeking. Baghdad has previously engaged with fellow Gulf producers — including sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia — to press for a higher quota baseline within the group.

The request comes as Iraq faces significant export challenges stemming from Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, historically Iraq’s main export route. Iraqi exports through the chokepoint returned to about 2 million bpd last month, according to the reporting, but overall traffic remains below pre-war levels, especially after renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran in the most recent week covered by the report.

Iran has granted a special exemption allowing some tankers carrying Iraqi crude to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which helped restore flows out of the Persian Gulf, though it was unclear whether the exemption covered all Iraqi cargoes. Because of the partial Hormuz blockage, Iraq has had to sell crude at substantial discounts to secure buyers.

Separately, Iraq’s prime minister has said the country intends to expand production to between 8 million and 10 million bpd within the next six years despite ongoing war-related disruptions. Before the conflict began, Iraq’s output was around 4 million bpd, underscoring the scale of the expansion Baghdad is proposing and the challenges it faces in reaching those targets.