Iraq will stop importing diesel in May, according to the country’s Oil Ministry, the first time Baghdad has done so since 2003.

Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luiebi said the country’s refineries have produced an average of 17,894 cubic metres of diesel so far in April and 17,158 cubic metres in March, which exceeds average consumption.

Iraq’s diesel reserve has also risen to 360,000 cubic metres, Al-Luiebi was quoted as saying in a statement by the Oil Ministry.

Iraq’s refineries mainly feed diesel to the country’s power sector, followed by public and private enterprises.

Al-Luiebi said last month that Baghdad was looking to reduce the general import of oil products by 25 per cent to save national money.

On the other hand, the ministry is also making significant efforts to revive and refinance refineries and downstream complexes in the country, which went offline due to sabotage during Baghdad’s violent conflict with radical terrorists since 2014.

Iraq is currently producing less than 4 million barrels of oil a day as part of its commitment to the international agreement between Opec and non-Opec oil producers to reduce supply in order to balance the global market.