Iraq's oil exports rising in October despite unrest
* Southern exports average 2.55 million bpd - sources
* Kurdish exports also rising in October
* OPEC faces challenge from lack of appetite for supply
curbs
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil exports from its
southern terminals are holding close to a record high in October
and Kurdish shipments are climbing, a further sign that fighting
has not derailed an expansion of supplies from OPEC's
second-largest producer.
Four months after an advance by Islamic State into northern
Iraq sent oil prices soaring to $115 a barrel, the unrest has
not led to a reduction in Iraq's exports from the south, the
main outlet for its crude to world markets.
Exports from Iraq's southern terminals have averaged 2.55
million barrels per day (bpd), according to shipping data for
the first 23 days of October tracked by Reuters. An industry
source who monitors the exports had a similar estimate.
The increase in supplies from Iraq, as well as a recovery in
Libyan production despite conflict there, adds to the challenge
for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which
meets to review supply policy on Nov. 27.
Oil has fallen steeply from June's high to a four-year low
of $82.60 a barrel this month on ample supplies, reducing OPEC
members' income from their principal export.
"So far no country has said it is willing to cut," said
Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "So it
will be difficult for OPEC to find an agreement overall."
The export figure has been achieved despite some delays to
shipments and loadings caused by bad weather, making the
achievement all the more impressive, oil industry sources said.
Southern Iraqi exports so far in October are slightly up
from the average of 2.54 million bpd during all of September and
are within sight of May's average of 2.58 million bpd, which was
the highest since at least 2003.
Iraq's oil supplies were held back by decades of war and
sanctions. It has been expanding oil production in the south
since Western companies signed a series of service contracts
with Baghdad in 2010, and boosted export capacity.
Total exports from Iraq's northern and southern ports hit a
record 2.80 million bpd in February. But northern exports of
Kirkuk crude have been shut since March 2 due to attacks on a
pipeline to Turkey, keeping total exports below their potential.
While Kirkuk exports remain halted and are unlikely to
return soon, Iraq's Kurdistan region has been exporting a rising
amount of oil independently of Baghdad via Turkey's Ceyhan port.
These averaged 180,000 bpd in September according to the
International Energy Agency, and may have reached 200,000 bpd in
October, an industry source who tracks the shipments said.
Further, small volumes of Iraqi oil are being sold by
Islamic State militants, which seized some oilfields in northern
Iraq in June with output of around 28,000 bpd.
Including oilfields it controls in Syria, the militant group
was producing about 50,000 to 60,000 bpd before recent U.S.-led
air strikes, research firm IHS estimated this week.
The trade is worth about $2 million a day, IHS said, as the
oil is sold on the black market at steep discounts to world
prices, ranging between $25 to $60 a barrel.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler, editing by David Evans)
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/24/iraq-oil-exports-idUSL6N0SJ1ZV20141024