<article><p class="lead">Iraq's oil minister Ihsan Ismail said that the country's crude exports, comprising Basrah volumes and Kirkuk blend marketed by Somo and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), will increase to 3.8mn b/d in June and 3.85mn b/d in July.</p><p>This would mark an increase from recent <i>Argus</i> tracking data, which puts Iraq's total exports at 3.68mn b/d in the first five months of this year and 3.63mn b/d in May.</p><p>Iraq suggested at the start of 2022 that it would increase exports from <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2291009">Basrah Oil Terminal</a> in the second quarter, after new pumps were installed at the terminal. The upgrade can facilitate up to 250,000 b/d of additional export capacity, which could take total shipments from BOT to around 3.45mn-3.5mn b/d in the second quarter, an Iraqi source said at the time. Basrah exports have averaged 3.21mn b/d in January- May, according to <i>Argus</i> data.</p><p>Iraq's nameplate southern export capacity is around 4.6mn b/d, but operational capacity is much lower because of ageing infrastructure and bottlenecks, which have been constraining the country's production hikes.</p><p>Opec's second producer continues to work on increasing its production and export capacity, Ismael reiterated. "We are committed to reach the maximum capacity which is <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2331776">8mn b/d by the end of 2027</a>," Ismael said on 19 June.</p><p>"Right now, we are executing projects in almost all oil fields, especially the ones in Basrah." He added that Iraq is also involved in infrastructure projects aiming to construct a sea-line — an offshore pipeline.</p><p>State-owned marketer <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2341422">Somo</a> indicated earlier this year that it intends to put into operation another single point mooring (SPM) buoy over the next few months, to improve capacity at BOT, where four jetties and four SPMs are currently operational.</p><p>But the country remains stuck in a political impasse, eight months after elections were held, and failure to pass this year's budget is restricting governmental spending despite a windfall from soaring oil prices. And the <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2340670">recent resignation of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc, the largest in the country's parliament,</a> could further complicate the situation.</p><p class="bylines">By Bachar Halabi</p></article>
