Iraq Not Willing to Cut 4.7Mln-Barrel Oil Output Irrespective of OPEC Deal

Iraq is not going to reduce current oil production level, media reported Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Iraq is not going to reduce the achieved oil production level of 4.7 million barrels per day, media reported Sunday, citing Falah Al-Amri, the head of the state-backed Iraqi company State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

"We have passed 4.7 million barrels a day … We are not going back. It’s a question of sovereignty," Al-Amri said at the press conference in Baghdad as quoted by Bloomberg.

On September 28, member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed on cutting its oil production for the first time in eight years. The output ceiling was set at 32.5-33 million barrels a day for the whole cartel, however, no exact limits for each country have been placed.

The OPEC countries are set to finalize the agreement on oil output freeze at the OPEC summit in Vienna on November 30. Other oil producing states, who are not members of OPEC, including Russia, are also expected to uphold the agreement, aimed at stabilizing the oil market.