According to the Iraqi government, the country is in the midst of finalizing negotiations for the development of a US$53bn project with ExxonMobil and PetroChina. The 30-year project will allow for an increase of oil output in the Iraqi southern exploration fields. The government expects to recover up to US$400bn in revenues and reduce significantly the level of gas flaring at its fields. Iraq is focused on developing its oil industry after 16 years of war and its government believes increasing power generation through electricity sector investment is vital for this project with ExxonMobil to be successful.
Oil production has been increasing rapidly since 2010 (12%/year) and reached 227 Mt in 2018 (Enerdata estimates). It increased strongly in 2015 and 2016 (by 12% and 11%, respectively) mainly due to increased output at fields in southern Iraq and in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which more than offset disrupted volumes in the north. In 2018 the year-to-year growth was 2%. In March 2019 Iraq had an oil output of 4.5 mb/d, among the highest in the world.