Iraq warns of regional instability and unveils a plan to increase its exports via Türkiye to 500,000 barrels.
Iraq warns of regional instability and unveils a plan to increase its exports via Türkiye to 500,000 barrels.
2026-05-16
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s new oil minister, Bassem Khudeir, warned on Saturday of continued unrest in the region and its impact on the smooth flow of energy supply chains through the Strait of Hormuz, noting Baghdad’s efforts to increase crude exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan to 500,000 barrels per day.
The minister said in a press conference held at the ministry building in Baghdad on the occasion of assuming his duties, which was attended by a correspondent from Shafaq News Agency, that Iraq used to export an average of 93 million barrels of crude oil per month before the outbreak of war in the region, stressing that the ministry was only able to export 10 million barrels of crude oil in April due to the current tensions.
Hadhir pointed out that 200,000 barrels per day are still being exported from Kirkuk Governorate via the Turkish port of Ceyhan, indicating that the ministry has a plan to increase this export rate to 500,000 barrels per day via Turkey, adding: “But because of the departure of the oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region at the moment, this cannot be achieved immediately, and we hope for their return to resume work again,” stressing at the same time that “if the war in the region does not end, Iraq’s energy exports will not return to their previous levels.”
shafaq.com
