Iraq holds a very conservatively estimated 145 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves. Hamid Younis, first vice president of the Iraq National Oil Company, said last week that the country is planning to ramp up crude production to 8 million bpd. A number of factors, including corruption issues, weak civil society, insecurity and lack of resources have kept Iraq from executing its oil exploration and production strategies. Iraq is planning to increase its crude oil production to phased targets of 5 to 8 million barrels per day (bpd) over time, according to the first vice president of the Iraq National Oil Company (INOC), Hamid Younis, last week. The director general of the Iraq Oil Exploration Company (IOEC), Ali Jassim, added that the next phase will see “remarkable activity” in the exploration sector, including operations in the Western Desert and the Nineveh governorate. Given the current delicate supply-demand balance […]