Crude oil exports from Iraq went up by 1 percent to 3.85 million barrels daily in February, despite the OPEC oil production cut that has seen Saudi Arabia and other major Gulf exporters cut their shipments abroad. Most of the increase came from the Kurdistan autonomous region, over which the central government in Baghdad has no real control: exports from the northern fields around Kirkuk that are under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government rose by 9 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shipments from Iraq’s largest port of Basra went up by 1 percent. Iraq has been the focus of worry regarding the OPEC deal because of its dependence on oil revenues. OPEC’s second-biggest producer pledged – after much opposition – to reduce its daily output by 210,000 barrels but it has not yet reached the mark. According to the latest data available, at the end […]