Iraq Seeks Higher OPEC Quota Amid Hormuz Shipping Disruptions

Iraq is seeking a significant increase in its oil quota from OPEC, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. The country wants to set its future quotas based on a daily production baseline of 6 million barrels of crude. This is higher than the current production rate, which stood at around 3.37 million barrels daily in August.

However, Iraq's Prime Minister has stated that the country aims to boost oil production to between 8 and 10 million barrels daily within six years. The country has been hit hard by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, its primary crude export route, but has managed to push exports back up to around 2 million bpd last month.

The US-Iran conflict has led to traffic through the chokepoint remaining below pre-war levels, and Iraq has had to offer buyers substantial discounts to place its crude. Despite this, the country has benefited from a special exemption granted by Iran to tankers carrying Iraqi crude.