Iraqi oil exports via the Kurdistan Region pipeline are expected to stabilize in May.

Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi predicted on Friday that Iraq’s total oil exports during May would remain at the same levels as April, at around 329,000 barrels per day as an additional export rate through the northern outlets and some alternative distribution channels, amid continued unrest in the region and disruption of supply chains through the Strait of Hormuz.

Al-Marsoumi explained in a post that the average export through the Kurdistan Region pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan reached 233,000 barrels per day in May, of which about 20,000 barrels came from the region’s fields, and the rest from Kirkuk oil and the northern and central fields.

These estimates come in conjunction with official warnings issued by Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair, in which he revealed the extent of the damage inflicted on the country’s export capacity as a result of the current tensions in the region, noting that total exports have declined from their normal rate of 93 million barrels per month before the crisis, to be limited to very low levels of only about 10 million barrels in April due to the disruption of maritime navigation.

Shafaq.com