After years of failure to develop sufficient domestic energy supplies, Iraq still depends on unreliable imports from Iran that require special exemptions from U.S. sanctions.
Iraq remains ready to expand production pending OPEC-plus allowances and ongoing field maintenance.
As OPEC-plus quotas lift, decades of infrastructure neglect have left Iraq poorly positioned to take advantage of prolific oil fields, high prices, and a market desperate for more crude.
A recent vote to remove the oil minister as the head of the Iraqi National Oil Company highlights political headwinds for Ihsan Ismaael's efforts to restructure the oil sector and maintain a foothold beyond the transition to a new government.
Baghdad and Erbil have vastly different strategies for responding to a ruling from Iraq's highest court that invalidated the legal foundations of Kurdistan's oil sector.
The West Qurna 2 field is scheduled to return from maintenance sooner than expected, and the Nassiriya field is back online a week after protest-related disruptions.
Monthly revenues hit another 10-year high as exports rebounded from a January dip and global oil prices spiked.
Iraq wants to take a 40 percent stake in the $27 billion deal, but finalizing terms could prove difficult before a new government takes shape.
One of the plaintiffs in the landmark Federal Supreme Court case against Kurdistan's independent oil sector discusses fallout from the ruling as well as Parliament's role in energy sector oversight.
The 60k bpd field is the second in two days to stop production amid global supply concerns as Russian war in Ukraine continues.
