Middle East tricky energy triangle
Baghdad's and Erbil's oil-output plans are entwined with political differences and Ankara's strategy to diversify energy sources
The ashen fabric of Iraqi life over the past few years has had at least one bright thread running through it: the oil sector has gone from strength to strength. Today, on the face of it, the prospects look good. Earlier this year, Iraq added 10bn barrels to its oil reserves, raising them to 153bn barrels. Now the country is about to go one step better. Oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi told the Iraq Energy Forum 2017 in Baghdad in April that a further 15bn barrels would be added by 2018. In this same period, he continued, oil-production capacity would rise from around 4.4m barrels a day to 5m b/d. Some Iraqi officials are daring to suggest that this figure could reach 9m b/d by 2040. The recent a
Also in this section
9 January 2026
OPEC+ remains on track as output falls, with only Gabon failing to hit its output targets in December, although Kazakhstan’s compliance was involuntary
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
