Iraq aims to increase its crude oi production capacity from the current 3.9 mb/d to 8 mb/d by the end of 2027, above a previous target of 7 mb/d by this date. The country, which is the second largest producer within the OPEC, has a production capacity of around 5 mb/d but its production is capped at 4.016 mb/d (in July 2021) under the OPEC+ agreement. In addition, Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have agreed to start a new round of discussions to resolve their long-standing dispute over oil production and marketing; the KRG could then end over 250,000 bbl/month of crude oil to Iraq (as agreed in December 2020).
Iraq's oil production has been increasing rapidly since 2010 (+8%/year until 2019) with a major increase in 2016 (+26%) and reached 233 Mt in 2019. This rise was mainly due to an increased output at fields in southern Iraq and in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which more than offset disrupted volumes in the north. In 2020, crude oil production fell by 12% to 204 Mt, in line with its committment under the OPEC+ supply reduction pact.