Iraqi production surges on partial export recovery

Iraq's nationwide oil production surged to nearly 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, an increase of almost 700,000 bpd from July, as a recovery in southern export volumes helped unlock stranded upstream capacity.

Production at fields managed by the federal government averaged about 3.27 million bpd in August, up from 2.64 million bpd in July, according to an Iraq Oil Report analysis based on data gathered independently from producing fields. Most of that increase came from fields in Basra, which combined for about 2.13 million bpd, up from 1.62 million bpd the prior month.