LONDON: Iraq has weighed leaving the Group of the Petroleum Exporting Nations if its oil manufacturing quota will not be elevated, sources informed Reuters on Thursday, weeks after the exit of the United Arab Emirates.
Since late 2016, OPEC has labored with Russia and different non-member international locations to handle the oil market by setting output quotas. The broader group is named OPEC+.
Earlier than the Iran conflict, OPEC+ pumped about half of the world’s oil, however output is presently restricted as a result of the battle has compelled Gulf members to chop manufacturing in response to the efficient closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq is the group’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and considered one of its 5 founding members. OPEC was shaped within the Iraqi capital in 1960.
The nation depends on oil for the majority of its earnings, which has been slashed because the Iran conflict successfully blocked exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
The federal government is grappling with a monetary disaster because of the conflict and a major rise in its OPEC quota ought to be handled critically, a senior Iraqi oil ministry official informed Reuters on Thursday.
Iraq had thought-about leaving OPEC, however the present plan was to stay a member and search a better quota, he added.
Iraq’s quota for July is 4.378 million barrels per day although present output is considerably beneath this due to the Hormuz disruption.
“Saudi Arabia and different OPEC allies ought to deal with this matter with the utmost seriousness. Failing that, Iraq will likely be compelled to think about all obtainable choices,” he stated.
Requested if they’d mentioned an OPEC exit, he stated: “It is nonetheless untimely for this step”.
Iraq’s oil ministry stated on Thursday that stories suggesting Baghdad was contemplating ending its membership in OPEC didn’t mirror the Iraqi authorities’s official place.
OPEC and Saudi authorities didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Iraq pumped 1.48 million bpd in Might, in response to OPEC knowledge, down from virtually 4.2 million in February earlier than the closure of Hormuz.
A authorities spokesperson stated Iraq was working to return to full export capability, however declined to remark additional on its OPEC quota or the potential for exiting the group.
“Iraq is working to revive its full oil export capability and goals to lift oil manufacturing to 7 million barrels per day over the approaching years,” Iraqi spokesperson Haider al Aboudi stated.
OPEC was created by means of the Baghdad Convention in September 1960 by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela.
Its membership grew within the decade that adopted, including Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), UAE (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971) and Ecuador (1973).
The next timeline charts OPEC’s fluctuating membership:
June 25, 2026: Iraq? Iraq has weighed leaving OPEC whether it is not granted a better manufacturing quota, sources informed Reuters, though it presently plans to stay within the group whereas pushing for a rise.
An Iraqi exit would be a serious blow to OPEC, given it’s a founding member and was the group’s second-largest producer earlier than the Iran conflict. Iraq’s oil ministry stated that stories suggesting Baghdad was contemplating ending its membership didn’t mirror the federal government’s official place.
The risk comes amid monetary pressure because the Iran conflict disrupts Iraq’s oil exports.
Might 1, 2026: UAE
The United Arab Emirates introduced it was quitting OPEC on April 28, efficient Might 1, 2026, dealing a major blow to the group. Sources informed Reuters that though the UAE has suspended participation in manufacturing quotas from Might 1, it stays a member for the rest of the calendar 12 months and officers have attended among the group’s conferences because it introduced its exit.
January 1, 2024: Angola
Angola left OPEC after a dispute over its OPEC+ output quota.
January 1, 2020: Ecuador
Ecuador left due to fiscal issues, and in a bid to lift its output. It had beforehand suspended its membership in December 1992 and rejoined in October 2007.
January 1, 2019: Qatar
Qatar stated it stop OPEC to deal with pure gasoline.
2016: Indonesia
Indonesia suspended its membership in early 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, earlier than suspending it once more on the group’s November 2016 assembly.
