Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Friday that Baghdad is committed to the OPEC+ agreement on determining production levels, two weeks ahead of a key meeting of the producer group.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani on Tuesday said that oil exports from southern fields increased by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), without giving a timeframe.

About 450,000 bpd of exports from oil produced in northern Iraq have been shut in since late March amid a dispute with Turkey.

The statement from the ministry on Friday indicated that rising exports were “normal” and did not impact overall production ceilings agreed upon in the OPEC+ framework.

It added that “these fluctuations [in exports] sometimes happen due to falling domestic consumption and seasonality.”

The statement also indicated that OPEC+ “will not hesitate to take decisions that bring stability to the oil market.”

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, or OPEC+, are set to meet in Vienna on 26 November to set their production policy.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Jana Choukeir; writing by Ahmad Ghaddar in London, Editing by Jason Neely and Sharon Singleton)