Iraq ranked as the second-largest contributor to global oil supply growth in the world in 2014, says the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Information released by EIA reveals Iraq contributed to almost 60 per cent of production growth among OPEC members.
Iraq ranked second, behind only the United States, despite security unrest caused by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and disrupted production in northern Iraq.
It is worth mentioning this growth was underpinned by production declines in other OPEC countries.
Iraq produced around 3.4 million barrels of crude oil per day (bbl/d) in 2014.
This represents an increase of 330,000bbl/d above 2013 levels.
Canada came in third place after Iraq, among the top five contributors, to global oil supply growth in 2014, followed by Brazil and Iran.
In June 2014, ISIL offensive caused northern production to shut down. However, increased output at fields in southern Iraq and in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region more than compensated disrupted volumes.
In July and August 2014, Iraq’s production of crude oil declined reaching its lowest monthly levels for the year following the start of the ISIL attacks.
From August to December, Iraq increased its oil production by almost 600MBOPD. In December, Iraq’s crude oil production reached 3,750MBOPD, the highest amount on record.
Major foreign oil companies like ExxonMobil, BP and Chevron helped revitalize oil fields in Iraq that suffered poor maintenance and oversight during the past years.
US Energy Information Administration
18 February
