Iraq’s oil export capacity has risen to more than 3 mb/d, while crude oil exports reached their highest level in August 2026, at nearly 70 mbl for the first time since the outbreak of the war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis (Iraqi News Agency, 07/09/2026).
“Iraq’s crude oil production rate exceeded 3 million barrels per day, while the average crude oil export rate during August reached more than 2.2 million barrels per day. The average export rate of fuel oil reached approximately 30,000 cubic meters per day,” the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Oil told the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The oil minister also said that "the government plans to raise the export capacity to 5 million barrels of oil per day after completing the strategic lines extending towards Fish-Khabour and Baniyas, in addition to the export outlets in the Strait of Hormuz."
In August 2026, Iraqi Prime Minister instructed authorities to move forward with two strategic pipeline routes: Basra-Haditha-Fish-Khabur and Haditha-Banias.
- The northern route is expected to connect Iraq’s southern oil fields to Fish-Khabur, near the Turkish border, providing access to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline and Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
- The western route would connect Haditha to Syria’s Banias port, providing Iraq with an additional route to the Mediterranean and potentially restoring a historic oil corridor between the two countries.
Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in OPEC, has been among the producers most severely affected by the conflict with Iran, as Iran effectively closed the strait and attacked commercial vessels. Iraqi oil exports fell from around 4.2 mb/d in February, before the war began, to approximately 1.45 mb/d within three months, according to OPEC data (The National News, 06/09/2026).
With US–Iran attacks having recently resumed, the main shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, prompting Iraq to actively seek alternative routes for exporting its oil.