Iraq Seeks Higher OPEC Quota Amid Hormuz Disruptions

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss raising Iraq's OPEC quota. The move comes as part of Iraq's six-year oil expansion plan, which aims to increase production from four million barrels per day to between eight and ten million barrels per day.

The Iran war has had a significant impact on Iraq's oil production, with the country producing around half its pre-war levels. To mitigate this risk, Iraq is working to expand its exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port, as well as Syria's Baniyas port and Jordan's Aqaba port.

The plans to export oil via a pipeline to Syria's Baniyas will require four years of construction and cost at least $15 billion. This move aims to avoid future disruptions in the Hormuz waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the war.