The biggest snag in Opec’s push for a consensus on cutting oil output could come from relentless growth in supply from its second-biggest producer.
Iraq has boosted production by about 6 per cent this year and promises more to come. It resumed pumping crude for export by pipeline from northern fields this month and is expanding capacity to produce at its main deposits in the south. Iraqi output could reach 6 million barrels a day by 2025, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie.
Saudi Arabia led suppliers to cut production two years ago to curb a glut, then reversed course in June on concerns that US sanctions on Iran could create a shortage. With fears of a scarcity now giving way to worries about oversupply, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia are preparing to discuss more cuts when they meet next week in Vienna. Iraq, which objected to output limits in 2016, may dig in its heels again.
“Iraq has been increasing production, but not to the extent that Saudi Arabia has done. Now the Saudis are seeking a very broad agreement where everyone accepts some cuts,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director at consultant Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. Baghdad would have a hard time joining other producers in trimming output, he said. “Iraq needs the revenue.”
Iraq is still struggling to overcome the legacy of warfare and sanctions, 15 years after a US-led coalition overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein. In its northern region, the nation is also seeking to repair oil pipelines and facilities damaged in the more recent conflict with Islamic State militants. Its citizens continue to endure power outages and inadequate access to clean water.
To maximise revenue, the government pumped a record 4.69 million barrels a day in October. Exports in August and September reached the highest levels since 2016 on robust production in the south, even as a pay dispute with the semi-autonomous Kurdish region curtailed shipments from the north.
“Iraq will probably say the right things regarding the OPEC meeting, about constraining or reducing output or even just ‘expressing support’ for new output cuts,” said Michael Barry, director of research at consultant FGE in London. Then, after a period, Iraq “will likely keep raising output quietly,” he said.
FGE estimates that Iraq could pump as much as 4.7 million barrels a day next year -- depending on what OPEC and other producers decide at their Dec. 6 meeting -- compared with about 4.5 million in November.
Iraq will work with OPEC and other partners to stabilize oil markets and isn’t concerned about further declines in crude prices, Fayyad Al-Nima, deputy oil minister for refining affairs, said on Nov. 21.
U.S. Pressure
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, is confident the group and its allies can reach a resolution to stabilize the oil market at their meeting next week, the kingdom’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia is pumping as much as 11.2 million barrels a day, though it has said it supports a drop in output and has pledged to reduce monthly exports by 500,000 barrels a day in December.
The U.S., which is been pumping shale oil at a record rate, has been leaning on Iraq to resume production at northern fields around the city of Kirkuk and to resolve its oil-revenue disputes with the Kurdish administration.
Iraq resumed pumping crude this month on a test basis through a Kurdish-controlled pipeline to Turkey, according to an oil ministry spokesman. Iraq’s state oil marketer received about 600,000 barrels of crude at storage tanks it uses in Turkey, according to agents at the port of Ceyhan where the tanks are located.
Like Iraq, OPEC members Libya and Nigeria are trying to restore production after years of internal conflict. They’ve been exempt from the group’s cuts agreement and are unlikely to welcome a decision to include them in any new cuts, Petromatrix’s Jakob said.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Falih visited Nigeria this week and Baghdad earlier in November. “He’s been visiting the countries that need convincing” of the need to cut, Jakob said.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
THE SPECS
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Transmission: six-speed manual
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20653hp%20at%205%2C400rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20800Nm%20at%201%2C600-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%208-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E0-100kph%20in%204.3sec%0D%3Cbr%3ETop%20speed%20250kph%0D%3Cbr%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20NA%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Q2%202023%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions