BAGHDAD: Iraq’s oil exports rose in November to a decades-high average of 3.37 million barrels per day (bpd), from 2.7 million bpd the previous month, the oil ministry said on Tuesday.
Two officials from the state-run Basra-based South Oil Company (SOC) said the jump in exports was helped by large quantities of crude held in storage due to bad weather the previous month. They said that would make it difficult to maintain the same level of exports in December.
November’s exports came on the back of average production of 3.66 million bpd, also the highest in decades, according to oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad.
He said all exports were from Iraq’s southern ports, with shipments from Iraq’s north via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port completely halted for the second straight month. Revenue from the country’s November sales totaled $3.67 billion, with the oil sold at around $36.42 per barrel, the spokesman added.
