Iraqi Oil Production Still Climbing, Despite ISIS Offensive
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iStock/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — Even as the fight against ISIS continues in Iraq, the ongoing violence appears to have barely made a dent in the country’s oil production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report on Friday that Iraq produced an additional 300,000 barrels per day in 2014 over the previous year.
“Iraq’s crude oil production grew by 950,000 barrels per day over the past five years, increasing from almost 2.4 million bbl/d in 2010 to almost 3.4 million bbl/d in 2014,” according to the U.S. EIA.
Frequent attacks have caused significant damage to production in the north and central regions, but the agency says that increased output at oil fields in southern Iraq and Kurdistan region has helped to offset the loss.
The gains are significant enough that processing and export facilities in Iraq are still hitting bottlenecks, according to the agency.
Iraq has the fifth largest proved crude oil reserves in the world, and it is the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC.
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