The West Qurna oil field in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, as seen in March. Output from the area is underpinning the country’s militant-threatened oil production. Reuters LONDON—Iraq is pushing forward with an ambitious increase in production at its prolific southern oil fields, as an Islamist insurgency has strangled output in the country’s north. Russian oil company Lukoil Holdings said on Tuesday that output at its West Qurna II field has reached over 280,000 barrels a day from 120,000 barrels a day when it first started pumping from the field in March. West Qurna II is one of several large tracts under development and is crucial to Iraq’s ambitious plans to ramp up output from its southern fields, which have remained shielded from the violence in the north of the country. The country, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is targeting output of around 8.4 […]