Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told reports at the Baghdad International book fair that prices of crude oil will be in the range of $68 to $75 a barrel in the second half of the year because of a commitment to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) output cut. Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer.
The organization had predicted earlier in the week that the recovery in global oil demand will gather strength in the second half of the year and its partners have restored almost 40% of the production that had got disturbed when the coronavirus had a detrimental impact on the demand a year ago. The group is now preparing to consider reviving more halted output as it believes that oil consumption will jump by about 5 million barrels a day — or roughly 5% — in the second half of 2021 versus the first as the world emerges from the pandemic slump.
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Iraq said last month it’s considering buying Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stake in one of the world’s biggest fields but hasn’t yet withdrawn from the West Qurna-1 field as the country is still studying the alternative in detail before taking a big decision impacting its economy.