Iraq Crude Exports Exceed 3.5m bpd

Iraq’s oil exports from the southern ports on Persian Gulf averaged 3.52 million barrels per day in June, slightly above the May average, the oil ministry said in a statement. Iraq exported 3.49 million bpd of crude oil in May, Reuters reported. OPEC’s second-largest producer’s exports generated $7.3 billion at a price of $69.32 per barrel, oil ministry spokesman, Asim Jihad, said in a statement. There were no exports in June from the Kirkuk fields, located in northern Iraq but under the control of Baghdad, said the statement. Kirkuk oil exports stopped in October, when Iraqi government troops dislodged Kurdish fighters from the region. The country is producing below its maximum capacity of nearly 5 million bpd under an agreement between OPEC and other exporters, including Russia, to curtail output to support oil prices.