Iraq Says Oil Stability Near

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Monday oil prices are approaching stability. Iraq plans to raise oil production to more than 7.5 million barrels per day by 2023-24, including 6 million bpd of oil for exports and 1.5 million bpd for domestic consumption, Luaibi was also quoted as saying by Reuters. Luaibi said the country’s refining capacity now stood at around 670,000 barrels per day with local consumption reaching 1.2 million bpd. “We plug the gap by importing fuel that costs us over $2 billion a year,” Luaibi was quoted by as saying by Al-Sabah. "Iraq's Oil Ministry plans to resume partial operations at the country’s largest refinery of Baiji with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day of oil." The ministry’s crews are carrying out repairs at Baiji Refinery aimed at resuming operations soon at a second sub-refinery to add an additional capacity of 70,000 bpd. Luaibi noted that Baiji maintenance and repair works have cost Iraq around $500 million so far. Iraqi forces recaptured Baiji from terrorists in 2015, but the area sustained heavy damage in the fighting.