Iraq oil surge to fan OPEC rivalry that triggered slump
The battle for customers among OPEC members that helped trigger oil’s collapse is about to escalate. Iraqi crude production is climbing from a 35-year high as it adds growing Kurdish supplies to its exports, while southern oilfields remain unscathed by ISIS militants. Finding buyers for the new output means offering more attractive terms than rivals […]Grant Smith writes for Bloomberg:
The battle for customers among OPEC members that helped trigger oil’s collapse is about to escalate. Iraqi crude production is climbing from a 35-year high as it adds growing Kurdish supplies to its exports, while southern oilfields remain unscathed by ISIS militants. Finding buyers for the new output means offering more attractive terms than rivals in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, say Citigroup Inc., DNB ASA and Barclays Plc.
Oil’s biggest slump in six years gained momentum in October as a wave of discounts by Middle Eastern producers signaled OPEC members were intent on defending market share against booming shale output from the U.S. The price of Saudi crude for Asian buyers was cut to the lowest in at least 14 years last month, a move followed by Iraq, Kuwait and Iran. “This price war is not just between Saudi Arabia and the U.S., it’s also intra-OPEC,” said Seth Kleinman, head of European energy research at Citigroup in London. “Iraq and the UAE and everyone else is cutting prices to defend their own market share. Iraq is ramping up production and has rising volumes to move.”
