Exports from Iraq's Basra and Khor Al-Amaya oil terminals have averaged 1.80 million barrels per day (bpd), up 100,000 bpd from Aug. 1 and the highest since 1.80 million bpd was exported in January, shipping data tracked by Reuters showed.
Oil companies such as BP and ENI have been working to boost output in Iraq, holder of the Middle East's third-largest oil reserves and seen as one of the world's most significant sources of future incremental supply.
"You don't have to do any exploration — the oil is there. You just have to get it out," said Paul Tossetti, senior energy adviser at PFC Energy.
Industry sources say the oil companies are having to keep a lid on output at the southern fields until new export facilities start up next year, because exports are running at the limit of existing capacity.
Iraq expects to turn on the tap on Jan. 1 at one of three new oil export terminals being built in the Gulf, an Iraqi oil official told Reuters. Each of the new export moorings has a capacity of 900,000 bpd.
Iraq ships the bulk of its oil via its southern ports. Oil exports from the Kirkuk fields in Iraq's northern region have amounted to another 430,000 bpd this month by pipeline to Ceyhan, a port in Turkey, industry sources said.
Oil flows through the line are currently halted for repairs to fix a leak. Sources at Iraq's North Oil Company said on Thursday that flows should resume in two to three days.
Increased flows from Iraq have helped to boost supplies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — of which Iraq is a member — in September to the highest in almost three years.
Libya, also an OPEC member, is starting to resume output halted by the civil war, and production is also rising from the North Sea after months of disruption to output.
Oil prices have come under pressure from increased supplies and weaker demand due to slowing economies. Brent crude fell below $102 a barrel on Friday and is heading for a drop of more than 10 percent this month.
