Oil ministers from OPEC and non-member countries are looking hard for a recovery in prices, and are hoping their meeting next month will produce an output freeze that can be a first step toward that goal. They’re getting some surprise help from Iraq, the member which added more to supply last year than any other country, and that’s due in large part to a change in fortunes in Kurdistan. The Kurdish Regional Government had planned to be overseeing production of 1 million barrels a day of oil by now. Instead, it faces declining output, recurring difficulties in getting its oil to market and renewed pressure from federal authorities. The northern region was seen as a bright spot for Iraqi production in 2016 after Baghdad asked investors in the south to cut expenditure, forcing them to shelve near-term expansion plans. Sales abroad rose last year despite the collapse of an […]