Interview-Iraqi Minister of Oil: Crude hit a record level of sales are not affected by the return of Iran


January 21, 2016
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Maher Mohamed Rachid and Chmitala
Baghdad, Jan. 21 (Reuters) - Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said in an interview with Reuters in Baghdad on Thursday that his country would press ahead with its plan to increase oil production this year, pointing to the arrival of exports to a record level in January, and not affected by the return of Iran to the market.
Abdul-Mahdi said that Iraq's second-largest producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil production growth south of the country is expected from up to 400 thousand barrels per day this year to more than four million barrels per day.
He added that Iraq will introduce competitive prices for the marketing of the additional production of crude, saying that his country has entered into contracts with oil refineries tray cover the whole of 2016.
"In fact we are in Iraq is no shortage of decades ... yet the demand for our oil is more than we are introducing, even with the return of Iran."
"The Iraqi oil will remain cheap for China ... our contracts for the year 2016 are all filled."
The minister said that the average cost of extracting oil from southern Iraq nearly ten dollars a barrel.
He said that raising the price of oil now will require from OPEC and independent producers agreed to curb production, adding that Iraq would support an emergency meeting of OPEC if the organization has been able to reach an agreement to cut production in coordination with independent producers.
Abdul-Mahdi, and pointed out that if impossible to reach such an agreement would have to be for OPEC to refrain from holding an extraordinary meeting in order not to cause a further decline in prices.
(Preparation Abdel Moneim Dirar Arab Bulletin - Edit Nadia Aljowaily)

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