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Eurasia
16/07/2023 06:00
The Iraqi News Agency quoted him as saying that the voluntary reduction in oil output will boost stability across the global energy market, considering that adding new OPEC members aims to bolster efforts to ensure the strength of the worldwide market and benefit all member countries and investors, the newspaper added.
The minister confirmed that Iraq seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in gas within five years through the sixth round of licensing contracts.
The Arab World News Agency quoted him as saying that Iraq has plans to boost its gas output by 1,500 million cubic feet over the next five years through its recent initiative to license exploration operations across ten oil and gas fields in western Iraq and 13 sites on the country's western border.
He explained that this round provides more than 800 million cubic feet of gas, saying that the sixth round, which has already been launched, includes gas exploration patches located on the western borders of Iraq.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose slightly on Friday and were on track for their second straight weekly gain, as resilient demand resulted in a larger-than-expected fall in US oil stocks, offsetting fears of higher US interest rates.
Saudi Arabia and Russia announced a fresh round of output cuts for August.
The total cuts now stand at more than five million barrels per day (bpd), equating to five percent of global oil output.