Iraq has cut oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and those cuts could widen to more than 3 million bpd within days as the country runs out of storage and cannot export crude due to the Iran crisis, two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, Iraq has cut production from the Rumaila oil field by 700,000 bpd, from the West Qurna 2 field by 460,000 bpd and from the Maysan field by 325,000 bpd, the officials, who did not wish to be named, said.
That output cut could grow to over 3 million bpd if oil tankers cannot move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and reach loading ports, they added.
Export disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz slowdown pushed storage to critical levels in Iraq’s southern ports, the sources said.
Iraq produced about 4 million bpd in January.
The Maysan field was producing 650,000 bpd before the cut, the officials said.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was closed for a fourth day after Iran attacked five ships, choking off a key artery accounting for about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
China and India are the two biggest recipients of Iraqi crude exports, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the OPEC member’s 3.33 million bpd average exports in 2025, according to Kpler data, with a further 560,000 bpd going to Europe.
BP BP.L, PetroChina 601857.SS and China National Offshore Oil Corporation 600938.SS, which operate the fields in Iraq, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The widening Iranian conflict is disrupting oil flows to several Asian countries as vessels are bottled up within the Middle East Gulf and crude and transport costs are rising, industry sources and analysts said on Monday.
The disruptions highlight the risks to Asia, the world’s biggest oil-consuming region, which sources 60% of its oil from Middle Eastern producers, from the fighting between the U.S. and Israel on one side and Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump signalled the U.S.-Israeli military assault could continue for weeks, which could mean a prolonged disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a pinch point through which some 20% of global oil output and a similar share of liquefied natural gas transits via ships from Middle East producers.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
