Iraq produced well below its OPEC+ crude quota in January: SOMO

Iraq produced well below its OPEC+ crude quota in January: SOMO

Iraq pumped 4.16 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in January, below its allowed limit of 4.28 million bpd under a pact with other so-called OPEC+ producers, data from state-owned marketer SOMO seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

Iraq like several other OPEC members is struggling to pump more even as prices trade at a seven-year high.

Its output actually fell by 63,000 bpd from December, the data showed.

Iraq's January exports were affected by adverse weather conditions, technical issues, and maintenance on export facilities, an Iraqi oil official told Reuters.

Insufficient storage capacity forced Iraq to reduce production, the source said.

The SOMO figures included output from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, which produced 425,000 bpd, according to a Reuters calculation.

Iraq's undersupply meant its compliance with the OPEC+ pact stood at 132% last month, the SOMO figures show.

OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, uses an average of secondary source production figures to determine compliance.

OPEC pumped 28.01 million bpd in January, a Reuters survey found on Monday, up 210,000 bpd from the previous month but short of the 254,000 bpd increase allowed under the supply deal.

Production fell or did not increase in Angola, Congo, Iran,