Iraq oil exports dropped in October to 2.09 million barrels a day (b/d), the lowest daily average seen since December 2010. However, high oil prices continue to prop up revenues, which now total just under $70bn so far for 2011.

A total of 64.8 million barrels were exported in October, up from 63.1 million in September, according to government spokesman, Assem Jihad. Daily production in September averaged 2.1 million b/d.

Official data has yet to be released by the Oil Ministry.

Exports into the Gulf totalled 50.6 million barrels at an average price of $103.3 a barrel, bringing in $5.229bn in revenues. Southern exports averaged only 1.6 million b/d, down from 1.76 million b/d in September.

Exports through the northern export pipeline to Turkey and trucks to Jordan accounted for about 14.2 million barrels, earning $1.5bn at $105.6 a barrel.  

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) agreed earlier in November to increase its contribution to the northern oil export pipeline to 175,000 b/d in 2012, from 160,000 b/d currently (MEED 14:11:11).