Iraq's Kirkuk, Kurdistan oil exports drop to 130,000 bpd from 300,000 a month ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Exports of Iraqi oil through Kirkuk fields and the Kurdistan Region have fallen to between 120,000 and 135,000 barrels per day, three Iraqi oil officials said. The volume is down from roughly 300,000 bpd a month earlier. Two main factors drove the decline, the officials said. Production halted at several oil fields in the Kurdistan Region, while the flow of approximately 90,000 bpd of crude from Iraq's southern Basra fields to the North Oil Company was cut. That crude had been shipped from Kirkuk through Ceyhan for export. The officials cited unstable security conditions in the region in recent weeks as directly affecting the Kurdistan oil sector, with several foreign oil companies reducing or suspending operations at certain fields, cutting output by around 60,000 bpd. The export route, running through a pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan and then to the Sarilo station via the North Oil Company, continues to operate, the officials said, confirming northern-route exports are currently running in the 120,000–135,000 bpd range. The officials added that the loss of approximately 150,000 bpd could be recovered and exports restored to earlier levels if the southern flow to the northern pipeline resumes and production restarts at the halted fields.