Iraq oil production tops 2.6m barrels a day

28.12.2010 [12:30]
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Baku, December 28 (AZERTAC). Iraq`s oil output has risen to more than 2.6 million barrels a day, its highest level for two decades, Oil Minister Abdulkarim al-Luaybi said Monday after a ceremony to mark his official takeover of the ministry.

"Today, our production is over 2.6 million barrels per day," Luaybi told reporters after the ceremony. "This figure has not been reached for more than 20 years."

Luaybi, who was previously a deputy oil minister, took over from Hussein al-Shahristani, who oversaw the signing of billions of dollars in oil deals that paved the way for global energy majors to return to Iraq more than 30 years after Saddam Hussein kicked them out.

"We know that developing Iraq`s economy and providing funds for finishing projects and providing jobs for people all depend on revenue from oil," Luaybi said in his speech at the handover ceremony, saying the ministry would meet the challenge.

He said the ministry would "reactivate the role of the exploration teams and geological surveys in order to strengthen national production," and also emphasized previously-announced plans to expand oil sector infrastructure.

These plans include "projects to expand oil and gas pipelines, and make good use of the gas that comes out with the extraction of oil," he said.

Iraq oil production tops 2.6m barrels a day

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