- Minister says he wants OPEC+ to continue market coordination
- Iraq oil minister speaks on trip to refinery expansion project
Oil will trade at more than $100 a barrel for the rest of the year, requiring the continued efforts of the OPEC+ producers’ group to manage supply and demand, according to Iraq’s energy minister.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, has been working with Russia and other producers to gradually restore supply as economies and energy demand rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic. OPEC+ will roll back all of its production limits by the end of August, while its current agreement to work together runs through the end of this year.
“I would like OPEC to retain its tools to measure and control output and maintain the existing balance,” Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said in an interview. “We will discuss that with our partners.” OPEC+ meets again Aug. 3.
Iraq, the second-largest OPEC producer behind Saudi Arabia, is expanding its oil refining and export capacities to meet rising demand for fuels and crude. The country will start operations at the Karbala refinery by the end of this year and expand crude export capacity at its southern ports to about 4 million barrels a day by the end of next year, the Iraqi minister said on a trip to the refinery expansion project.