Iraq’s oil output targets 'impossible'

The Iraqi government’s stated intention to increase oil capacity from 2.5 to 10-12 million barrels per day (b/d) over the next decade is impossible and actual production will fall far short of official stated targets, a panel of market experts has concluded.

"The amount of oil Iraq is proposing to deliver to the market is impossible," said Peter Wells, director of oil and energy product and technology modeller Neftex Petroleum Consultants, speaking at the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London. "It is spreadsheet trickery because if you look at what it says on paper, in terms of reserves, compared with the maturity of the fields, the figures do not add up. The reserves are tired."

Wells predicts that, while the bid target for one of Iraq's