Iraq’s Output Exceeds 5 Million Barrels a Day as Baghdad Seeks Higher OPEC Export Cap
Key Facts
Iraq’s output exceeded 5 million barrels a day, Oil Minister Bassem Mohammed Khudair confirmed on November 7, as he said Baghdad was in talks with OPEC to raise its export cap. The statement distinguishes between the country’s production and what it can export: the minister said Iraq complies with a daily export cap of 4.33 million barrels. The request to raise the cap comes as the country relies heavily on oil for public revenue. The minister linked higher production rates to the need to finance infrastructure development and carry out government plans. Reuters reported on the same day that output had exceeded 5 million barrels a day.
The minister said Iraq complies with the daily export cap imposed by OPEC, which stands at 4 million and 330 thousand barrels. Production, meanwhile, exceeds 5 million barrels a day, according to his statement. He said, "There is a difference between Iraq’s production capacity and its export capacity." In drawing that distinction, the minister framed the issue as a gap between the ability to produce oil and the permitted volume of exports. The statement did not announce an immediate change to the existing cap, but referred to talks to raise it.
The minister attributed Baghdad’s request to Iraq’s particular circumstances and the conditions it had experienced over the past five decades. He said talks with OPEC to raise the export cap were based on "Iraq’s particular circumstances and the nature of the conditions it has experienced over the past five decades." He also linked higher production rates to providing the financial revenue needed to develop infrastructure and carry out government plans. That fiscal objective matters given the budget’s reliance on oil revenues. Oil accounted for 88% of Iraq’s federal revenues in 2025, according to Finance Ministry data cited by Shafaq News.
Iraq’s total revenues in 2025 exceeded 124.2 trillion dinars, including 109.2 trillion dinars from oil, according to figures cited by Shafaq News. The data place the effort to raise the export cap in the context of public finances’ reliance on crude income. They reflect 2025, however, while the minister’s November 7 remarks concerned current production levels and talks with OPEC. The minister did not link Baghdad’s request to a move in oil prices or a price forecast. Nor did he cite investment by foreign oil companies as a reason for the request.
The talks come as the seven-member OPEC+ group kept its November production targets unchanged, while Reuters said Middle East disruptions had kept many announced increases out of the market. The group’s latest published decision had kept December production at the level required for September and announced a forthcoming meeting on November 29. More broadly, Reuters reported that a review of OPEC+ members’ production capacity had been delayed and that its findings are important for setting 2027 quotas. The forthcoming review puts members’ ability to produce among the issues in discussions over future quotas. Iraq’s request, announced on November 7, concerns talks to increase its export cap, according to the minister’s statement.
Exports remain a separate issue from production in Iraq’s oil sector. In August, Iraq and Turkey signed a one-year agreement to increase crude exports through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline, with a stated minimum of 750 thousand barrels a day. The Associated Press reported at the time that Iraqi exports were about 200 thousand barrels a day when its report was published, compared with about 3.5 million barrels a day before the war. Iraq’s prime minister described the agreement as a strategic milestone to ensure continued oil export flows and strengthen economic cooperation. This background underscores the importance of export routes to Baghdad, while the November 7 statement focused on negotiations with OPEC over the export cap.