Iraq's Kurdistan oil exports sharply reduced through weekend: Shipping sources

Oil exports from Iraq's Kurdistan via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan were still flowing at sharply reduced rates on Saturday and Sunday, two shipping sources told Reuters.

Flows were fluctuating at between 200,000 and 250,000 barrels per day versus normal flows of around 600,000 bpd.

Exports have dropped since Wednesday last week when Iraqi military forces took over the Kirkuk area from the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, resulting in a drop in output from nearby fields.

Iraqi oil ministry officials had said they were hoping to bring output back to normal by Sunday, but it has not happened yet, one of the sources said.

Iraq increased oil exports from the southern Basra region on Saturday by 200,000 bpd to make up for the shortfall from the northern Kirkuk fields, the oil ministry said.

The increase in Basra exports keeps Iraq’s total output within the quota agreed with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the ministry said in a statement, citing Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi.