Iraqi oil exports climb to average 1.977 mbpd in December

Iraq's oil exports rose to an average of 1.977 million barrels per day (bpd) in December compared to 1.902 million bpd in November, a State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) official said.

Exports from Iraq's southern oil hub of Basra were 1.534 million bpd while those from northern Kirkuk via Turkey were 443,000 million bpd, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The government is hoping to finalise contracts with foreign oil firms that could eventually expand output capacity to 12 million bpd, catapulting Iraq to the top rank of oil producers. Output is currently around 2.5 million barrels per day.

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