Iraq Sees Steady Oil Prices and Considers Buying Exxon Stake

Iraq Sees Steady Oil Prices and Considers Buying Exxon Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, said crude prices would probably remain around $65 a barrel in the coming months and announced it’s considering buying Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stake in one of the world’s biggest fields.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies -- a 23-nation grouping known as OPEC+ -- will continue trying to keep crude prices “within normal averages,” Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reporters in Baghdad. “There is no concern about a drop in prices.”

The comments suggest OPEC+ remains confident about the outlook for energy demand, despite the surge in coronavirus cases in India, the third-largest oil importer. The group of major exporters began unprecedented supply cuts last year to bolster prices as the pandemic spread. It plans to ease the restrictions between May and July and increase daily output by just over 2 million barrels.