(Adds detail on exports)
By Rowena Edwards
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Iraq produced 4.34 million
barrels per day (bpd) of crude in February, little changed from
the previous month, according to an official at state-owned
marketer SOMO.
SOMO's figures show that Iraq's output was 92,000 bpd below
its quota under the production deal agreed by the OPEC+ group
comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and allies.
This marked a second month that Iraq's output has been
around 100,000 bpd below quota, having produced 4.43 mln bpd in
December, its own figures show.
The decline has largely been attributable to maintenance at
Iraq's 400,000 bpd West Qurna 2 oilfield, an oil ministry source
told Reuters on Wednesday.
Two oil officials told Reuters in January that Iraq planned
to shut the field temporarily for maintenance on Feb. 20 but
expected limited impact on Iraq's production because other
oilfields would cover the shortfall.
West Qurna 2 returned from maintenance after the first week
of March, the official said on Wednesday.
The production decline has hit exports from Iraq's southern
port of Basra, which have averaged 3.18 mln bpd in January and
February, compared with 3.25 mln bpd in December, SOMO figures
show.
(Reporting by Rowena Edwards
Editing by Toby Chopra and David Goodman)
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