Iraq announces negotiations on new oil deal

The Iraqi authorities are negotiating with interested parties to reach an agreement to stabilize the market amid the termination of the deal to limit oil production, the official spokesman for the country’s oil ministry Asem Jihad.

“Iraq is now conveying with interested parties to reach a new arrangement that will steady the oil market and put an end to the fall in oil prices. The previous agreement to limit production ends at the end of March, we intend to use this time to call on the OPEC member countries and non-members in the party to reach an agreement that will reappearance balance to the worldwide oil market, “said Jihad.

According to him, Iraq is currently “unreasonable” to supply additional volumes of oil to the world market, as this will lead to a further drop in prices for it.

“Dropping oil prices will reason important harm, especially to producing countries,” said Jihad.

“The Iraqi entrustment has made noteworthy efforts to bring together the opinions of Saudi Arabia and Russia at the OPEC summit in Vienna a few days ago,” the official thought.

The volume of oil production of the second largest producer of this raw material in OPEC – Iraq in December 2019 amounted to 4.535 million barrels per day. Oil export from Iraq was then at the level of 3.875 million barrels per day.

OPEC + countries

The Minister of Energy of Russia Alexander Novak, following the results of intense negotiations between the OPEC + countries on Friday, said that from April 1, when the previous agreements expire, the deal will cease to exist and its participants will no longer have any obligations. He also told that OPEC + cooperation will continue within the framework of the Charter for perpetual cooperation, and former partners in the deal will monitor the market in the format of a ministerial monitoring committee.

Oil quotes collapsed earlier on Monday by 30 percent, updating lows for four years, after the collapse of the OPEC + agreement and the promise of Saudi Arabia to increase production and lower oil prices. Barrel Brent fell to 31.38 dollars per barrel, WTI – to 27.9 dollars. Now oil prices are losing about 20 percent.