OPEC agrees to increase oil production

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group agreed to gradually increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day on Sunday, easing production limits on Iraq and various other countries. 

The 19th OPEC and non-OPEC meeting was held on Sunday via videoconference, with a gradual increase by 400,000 barrels per day agreed to start from August 2021. 

The next meeting will be held in September. It was also agreed to evaluate market developments and countries performance in December. 

Under the agreement, Iraq and various other countries including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, will see production limits eased. Production adjustments should be completely lifted by the end of September 2022, the group hopes. 

“From May 1, 2022, a new reference production will be adopted for some OPEC + countries, including Iraq,” said Alaa al-Yasiri, the director of Iraq’s SOMO oil marketing company, without providing further details. 

OPEC and its allies will continue increasing oil production as the global economy “continues to point in the direction of a durable recovery,” the organization’s secretary general said in June, with oil prices jumping to a new high.

Iraq’s economy depends mainly on exporting oil. In return, the country imports gas and refined products, especially from Iran.