Vienna July 7 2023: Iraq’s Minister of Oil Hayan Abdulghani has confirmed his country’s plans to boost its gas output by 1,500 million cubic feet over the next five years, through its recent initiative to licence exploration operations across 10 oil and gas fields in west Iraq and 13 sites on the country’s western border.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on the sidelines of the 8th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, the Iraqi Minister said that these efforts are aimed at achieving self-sufficiency.
Asked about OPEC’s role in maintaining market stability, Abdulghani explained that OPEC and OPEC+ issued several decisions that not only target oil prices, but also to stabilise the global oil market, to protect the interests of both producers and consumers, as well as investors. The voluntary reduction in oil output will boost stability across the global energy market, he added.
Speaking on the OPEC Secretary-General’s announcement about talks to add new countries to the organisation, the Iraqi Minister of Oil said that the addition of new OPEC members aims to bolster efforts to ensure the stability of the global market, in addition to benefitting all member countries and investors.
Iraq’s reserves total around 144.5 billion cubic metres of oil and over 133 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, he revealed, noting that Iraq has numerous fields that produce large amounts of oil and gas, and are managed in cooperation with several international companies.
