Building momentum behind the post-war oil industry in Iraq depends in part on long-term investments, the Iraqi oil minister said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its November market report Iraqi oil production was holding steady at around 3.2 million barrels per day.
Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told the Telegraph newspaper in London long-term production forecasts inside the country depends in large part on outside mechanisms.
"People were talking about 12 million barrels per day and I think that was exaggerated, maybe even 9 million was too much, but I think that Iraq can double its actual production by 2020 and after that," he said in an interview published Sunday. "But it's a question of investment in the oil industry – building the facilities and pipeline networks in the country."
The 12-member OPEC said geopolitical issues inside member state Iraq, notably violence associated with the group calling itself the Islamic State, were hurting the refining sector, though much of the country's production operations are in southern regions shielded from unrest.
Describing Basra as the economic capital of the country, the minister said oil, the ports and all parts of the energy sector would lift Iraq as a nation.
Investments in Iraq may hinge on market mechanisms in a climate where oil prices are at historic lows. OPEC last week said it was keeping production levels static, though crude oil prices well below the $100 per barrel mark means some member states will suffer financially.
The oil minister said the OPEC decision was "terrible," though Iraq is not held to the same production quotas as other member states.
