Iraq has started to cut crude production after exports through the strait of Hormuz were effectively halted by the war in the Middle East, the oil ministry said.
Tanker traffic through the strait — the main route for Mideast Gulf crude exports — has almost come to a standstill since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on 28 February. Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and has threatened shipping, causing freight rates to spike and insurers to remove war-risk cover.
A prolonged disruption to exports would threaten most of Iraq's crude output because the country has limited storage capacity. Iraq produced around 4.2mn b/d in January, Argus estimates. Current production levels are unclear.
Most of Iraq's crude production is in the south, where around 3.3mn b/d is exported from the Basrah terminals and shipped through the strait of Hormuz to global markets. Northern exports — about 220,000 b/d piped to Turkey's Ceyhan port — were already suspended after pumping through the Iraq–Turkey pipeline stopped earlier this week on security grounds. Iraq has also started shutting in output at its northern fields.
The oil ministry said Iraq's refineries remain in operation and sought to reassure citizens that Hormuz disruptions will not affect domestic fuel supply. Iraq supplied around 600,000 b/d of crude to its refineries last month, Argus estimates, plus roughly 100,000 b/d to power plants.
Foreign minister Fuad Hussein told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that Iraq is now being directly affected by the conflict, citing disruptions to maritime navigation and energy supplies. He said stability in global oil markets has become a regional and international priority.
Other Mideast Gulf crude producers also face the prospect of having to shut in output if the Hormuz disruption continues. Kuwait and Qatar rely entirely on the strait to export a combined 2.2mn b/d, according to Kpler.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE also rely heavily on the Hormuz route. Both have pipelines that bypass the strait, but these would offset only part of any loss. Saudi Arabia can divert more exports through its 7mn b/d east–west pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea, although loading capacity there is limited and the line also supplies refineries on the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia shipped 5.3mn b/d of crude through Hormuz last year and 750,000 b/d via the Red Sea, Kpler data show.
The UAE has the 1.5mn b/d Adcop pipeline to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, but this does not fully cover its usual exports. Fujairah itself has also come under attack, which threatens its use as an alternative. The UAE exported 2.1mn b/d through Hormuz last year, according to Kpler.
Iran exported 1.7mn b/d of crude in 2025, most of it through Hormuz to China. It has a pipeline to the Jask terminal that bypasses the strait, but this route remains largely untested.
