Nasdaq, July 10 – Iraq has raised its southern crude oil production capacity to 2 million barrels a day from 1.7 million b/d, the head of the country’s South Oil Co., Abdul Jabbar Lauiby, said Saturday.
Lauiby told reporters that the addition of 300,000 b/d to southern oil production started from Friday.
Lauiby said that the company would increase production from southern oil fields to 2.25 million b/d during 2006.
Lauiby said that the increase came as a result of drilling new oil wells and rehabilitating new ones at North and South Rumala oil fields as well as West Qurana oil field.
Iraq exported an average of 1.55 million b/d from its southern oil fields in June.
Baghdad has resumed crude oil exports from northern oil fields two weeks ago for the first time in almost a year.
In June Iraq exported an average of 106,600 b/d from northern oil fields for the first time in almost a year. Northern oil exports are expected to boost Iraq’s exports in July to 1.8 million b/d.
Iraq is currently producing around 500,000 b/d from northern oil fields, the officials said.
