Iraq maintains stable oil production despite OPEC decline
Iraq maintains stable oil production despite OPEC decline
2026-01-12 01:13
Shafaq News – Follow-up
A Reuters survey showed that OPEC production fell in December 2025, while Iraq maintained stable production levels, despite the OPEC+ alliance agreeing to gradual increases, due to declining supplies from Iran and Venezuela as a result of US sanctions.
The survey showed that the total production of OPEC countries reached about 28.40 million barrels per day during December, recording a decrease of 100,000 barrels per day compared to the revised November, as this decline came mainly as a result of the decrease in production of Iran and Venezuela, which limited the impact of the planned increases within the OPEC+ agreement.
The survey indicated that the OPEC+ alliance has slowed the pace of monthly production increases, amid concerns about a supply glut in global markets, several member countries nearing their maximum production capacity, and some producers demanding compensatory cuts for previous production periods that exceeded their quotas.
Under an agreement involving eight members of the OPEC+ alliance and covering December production, five OPEC countries – Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – were scheduled to increase their output by about 85,000 barrels per day, before accounting for compensatory cuts totaling 135,000 barrels per day, which included Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, thus reducing the actual increase.
A Reuters survey showed that the actual increase achieved by the five countries did not exceed 20,000 barrels per day, while Iraq’s production remained largely unchanged, as Reuters data and OPEC secondary sources showed Baghdad’s adherence to its production quota, despite differing estimates from some external parties regarding actual production levels.
In contrast, the survey indicated that Iranian oil production fell by about 100,000 barrels per day during December, affected by US sanctions aimed at limiting Tehran’s oil exports, in addition to a decline in Venezuelan production by about 70,000 barrels per day, with expectations that pressure on supplies will continue in the coming period.
shafaq.com
