24 July 2020; MEMO: The Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) yesterday denied reports claiming it had violated the OPEC+ production cut agreement in July.
Earlier this week, financial data site Refinitiv Eikon, Iraq’s oil exports increased in the first 20 days of July, suggesting that Baghdad may have abandoned its commitment to reduce crude production under the OPEC+ agreement. Another report posted on Attaqa website under the heading “Iraq increases oil exports in July, still pumps above OPEC+ target”.
In response, SOMO issued a statement saying it would like to clarify that the Attaqa report and its findings are “unprofessional and far from the reality”.
“At the time when the news confirmed that exports from the southern ports of Iraq recorded a rate of 2.7 million barrels per day, it had neglected the fact that this rate in itself was 100,000 barrels per day less than June’s export rate,” the statement said, adding that “this rate in itself is not final and does not reflect the commitment of Iraq, which will be shown by the results of the July exports at the beginning of August.
The company called on media outlets to use credible information sources in order not to affect their credibility.
