Iraq Wants to Double Oil Output—and Needs OPEC to Get Out of the Way

Iraq wants to more than double its oil production within six years. First, it needs OPEC to let it. Baghdad is targeting output of between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day, up from roughly 4 million bpd before the Iran war, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Friday.

Iraq dispatched its oil and finance ministers to Saudi Arabia the same day to make the case for a higher OPEC production quota. OPEC+ has hired DeGolyer and MacNaughton to independently assess the maximum sustainable production capacity of most members, including Iraq.