The Iraqi Ministry of Oil revealed on Saturday that the country’s exports of crude oil surpassed 600 million barrels in the first half of 2024.

According to official figures, Iraq’s total oil exports reached 618,044,445 barrels in the first six months of the year, with an average monthly export of 103,007,407 barrels and a daily estimate of 3,433,000 barrels, Shafaq News reported.

This represents an increase of 3.77 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

According to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, 611,952,117 barrels of crude oil were shipped from the port of Basra and the central areas, 3,999,417 barrels from the Qayyarah oilfield, and 2,133,111 barrels to Jordan.

Through ports on the Arabian Gulf, Iraq exports around 65 percent of its crude oil to Asian markets, such as China and India, and ships the remaining 20 percent to Europe and 15 percent to the United States.

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil said in mid-July that Iraq is committed to the voluntary output reduction set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The Iraqi ministry confirmed Iraq’s commitment to OPEC’s voluntary reductions and compensation for any surplus production since the beginning of 2024.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry added that it will adhere to a production level of four million barrels per day for the month of July and the coming months.

OPEC+ said in May that Iraq and Kazakhstan, two members of the coalition, agreed to compensate for excess oil production by further reducing their oil output until the end of 2024.

In April, the two countries decided to submit plans on how they would achieve full compliance.

OPEC+ said earlier that Iraq exceeded its quota by pumping 602,000 barrels per day in total in the first three months of 2024, while Kazakhstan exceeded its quota by pumping 389,000 barrels per day.

The plans shared by both countries show in detail that the entire overproduction will be fully compensated for by the end of this year, according to OPEC+.