Iraq’s Oil Ministry has announced it has exported 95.94 million barrels in February 2018, or 3.42 million barrels a day (b/d), quoting figures obtained from the state oil marketing company Somo.

Based on an average oil price of $60.13 a barrel in February, the Oil Ministry said it earned revenues worth $5.76bn from crude exports in the month.

The ministry attributed the lower export and revenue figures for February, compared to the $6.77bn it earned by selling 3.49 million b/d in January, to February being a shorter month of 28 days.

The oil exported was produced from the assets in the country’s central and southern regions, and does not take into account crude output from the oil-rich north that includes Kirkuk and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

However, in an attempt to resolve the stalemate between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced that his government has agreed with the KRG to restart oil exports from Kirkuk using the Kurdish-controlled pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.