Iraqi oil sector: Fighting against all odds
Iraq’s myriad troubles will not stop its crude output from growing again in 2016, says oil minister Adil Abdul al-Mahdi
Islamic State (IS) controls large swathes of the country’s north and west. Conflict has displaced at least four million citizens. Kirkuk and its oil have been subsumed into an expanded Kurdish region, which is itching for independence. Basrawis are demanding more money from Baghdad. War has rendered the country’s biggest refinery, Baiji, inoperable. The slump in oil prices has wrecked Baghdad’s budget. Yet somehow Iraq hangs on and somehow its oil sector continues to defy the gloom. “Iraq lived with sanctions and we can deal with this,” says Adil Abdul al-Mahdi, the country’s oil minister. Not just survive, either. Abdul-Mahdi believes Iraqi production, now at 4.35m barrels per day, will
Also in this section
23 January 2026
A strategic pivot away from Russian crude in recent weeks tees up the possibility of improved US-India trade relations
23 January 2026
The signing of a deal with a TotalEnergies-led consortium to explore for gas in a block adjoining Israel’s maritime area may breathe new life into the country’s gas ambitions
22 January 2026
As Saudi Arabia pushes mining as a new pillar of its economy, Saudi Aramco is positioning itself at the intersection of hydrocarbons, minerals and industrial policy
22 January 2026
New long-term deal is latest addition to country’s rapidly evolving supply portfolio as it eyes role as regional gas hub
