Iraq began reducing its crude oil production from the turn of the year in line with its OPEC commitments, oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said in a statement Thursday.
"Iraq reaffirms its commitment to the decision by OPEC, which was adopted at the last meeting in Vienna by putting in place a deliberate plan to reduce output from the country's fields with the beginning of the New Year, and that Iraq is dealing wisely with this issue", Luaibi said in a statement on the oil ministry website.
The statement did not provide any further details on current production r how the cuts will be spread across Iraq's numerous oil company partners and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said Tuesday the KRG was exporting more than its allocated share of oil, despite Baghdad's efforts to comply with the OPEC's decision in November to hold the group's total production at 32.5 million b/d.
S&P Global Platts estimates Iraq produced at an average of around 4.6 million b/d in December, up 50,000 b/d from November.
