Iraq Aims to Increase Oil Output

The Iraqi government has drawn up plans to increase the country’s oil production capabilities over the next decade, writes Omar al-Shaher.
A soldier walks on the platform of the Basra Oil Terminal, 12 nautical miles off the Iraqi coast in the waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf, close to the port town of Umm Qasr August 8, 2006. The terminal is the main source of Iraq's revenues, a key supplier to the global energy market and an obvious target for insurgents aiming to thwart the country's economic recovery. Picture taken August 8, 2006. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ) - RTR1GA9M
A soldier walks on the platform of the Basra Oil Terminal, 12 nautical miles off the Iraqi coast in the waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf, close to the port town of Umm Qasr, Aug. 8, 2006. - REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
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Omar al-Shaher
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The Iraqi Oil Ministry has said that the country's export capacity will reach 7 million barrels per day by 2015, while the parliamentary Energy Committee believes that the size of Iraq's oil exporting capacity is still below the upper limit set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Abdul Mahdi al-Amidi, a senior official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said that his country will be able to export more than 7 million barrels a day in 2015, after construction is completed on offshore rigs at the end of this year. Amidi said that the oil ministry would be able to deal with these quantities for transfer and export.

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