Iraq will be the third-biggest provider of new oil supplies over the next decade, boosting its production by almost 30 percent, according to the International Energy Agency.
The OPEC member will raise output to almost 6 million barrels a day by 2030, overtaking Canada as the world’s fourth-largest producer, as it continues to rehabilitate an oil industry ravaged by decades of conflict and sanctions, the IEA said Thursday. Only the U.S. and Brazil will add more output in the period, according to Bloomberg.
Still, the growth rate is slower than that seen earlier this decade as Iraq faces competition for foreign investment and expertise, and struggles to inject enough water to maintain pressure at oil reservoirs, the IEA said in a report. The outlook was downgraded from the agency’s last assessment seven years ago, when it projected Iraq would pump 7.5 million barrels a day by 2030.