World

Iraq's daily oil exports reach two million barrels, the highest rate since the war began

By Staff Writer  |  15 August 2026

The oil minister said August shipments have averaged two million barrels a day, about 26 million barrels so far this month, and that the rate has not been matched since the crisis began.

Iraq is exporting more oil per day this month than at any point since the war between Iran and the United States began, its oil minister said on Friday, a recovery achieved while the route that normally carries most Gulf crude remains closed to the great majority of shipping.

Speaking at a press conference, the minister gave the running average for the month to date.

exports since the beginning of the month have reached a rate of two million barrels

Bassem Mohammed Khudair, Oil Minister of Iraq

That works out at roughly 26 million barrels shipped since 1 August, and the minister said the daily rate had been achieved for the first time since the crisis began.

Why the figure is worth reading twice

Through the summer the constraint on Gulf producers has not been what they can lift but what they can move. Crossings of the strait have run in single digits and low teens against a pre-war range of 100 to 140 vessels a day. Volumes that cannot pass have to leave the region another way or stay in the ground.

Iraq exports through terminals on its southern coast and through the northern pipeline to the Mediterranean, and the balance between the two decides how much of its production is exposed to conditions in the strait. A rate of two million barrels a day, sustained for a fortnight, tells buyers that a share of Gulf supply has found a way around the closure rather than waiting for it to end.

Buyers are rearranging themselves

Refiners have started to plan on the assumption that the disruption lasts. At least four in Asia bought crude from the United States during the week for delivery later in the year, taking barrels from outside the region while refining margins are strong and product supply is tight. India cut its export duties on petrol, diesel and aviation fuel with effect from Saturday, lowering diesel to 24 rupees a litre from 25.5 and setting petrol at zero from 3.5.

Prices have not settled. Brent futures rose 80 cents on Friday to 87.87 dollars a barrel and were on course for a weekly gain of about 5 per cent, after a second attack in a fortnight on tankers belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

What it means for anyone buying fuel or plant

For contractors pricing work with a fuel exposure, the Iraqi figure is not a reason to expect relief. It is evidence that supply is being rerouted rather than restored, and rerouting is what carries the cost. Longer voyages, higher war risk premiums and buyers competing for barrels outside the Gulf all sit in the delivered price whatever the headline production number says.

The ministry has not said whether the rate can be held for the rest of the month. That answer arrives with the September export figures.