Iraq is pushing to increase its oil output despite severe infrastructure problems as a result of the war.
Head of the country's South Oil Company (SOC Dhiya Jaffar, claimed that Iraq's southern oilfields could be producing up to 2.5m b/d by the end of 2011, even though war damage has created major problems to pipeline and storage infrastructure.
Jaffar stated that country needed to invest billions of dollars in repairing the damage, but stated that “if Iraq does not move fast to increase its export capacity we will face a problem, a big problem. It is at choking point.”
However, SOC also stated that work to replace much of the damaged facilities in the main fields around Rumaila would be completed by the end of June, with BP stating that January 2011 production had already improved by 10% on the 2009 baseline target. Output from Rumaila had reached 1.29m b/d in early January, although levels have been variable in subsequent months.