Iraq to boost oil exports to 2.8M barrels daily in June

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Iraq will export 2.8 million barrels of oil per day on average in June, according to the newly-appointed Iraqi oil minister.

In an interview with Al- Sharqiya TV on Sunday, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail said it is in Iraq's interest to adhere to the OPEC + agreement to cut production.

Ismail recalled that his government had asked the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil to export a maximum of 370,000 barrels per day, starting in June to help Iraq comply with OPEC + quota.

Last month, the KRG declared its commitment to a 2019 deal with Baghdad that requires the KRG to hand over 250,000 barrels of oil a day to the federal government and turn over all financial revenues to the state treasury.

The KRG failed to make revenue payments from monthly oil exports to the Iraqi State Petroleum Marketing Company (SOMO), plunging the two parties, the KRG and the central government, in a standoff.