Iraq Leads OPEC+ Oil Production Increase Last Month

The monthly report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), issued on Thursday, September 10, 2026, revealed an increase in "OPEC+" oil production by 297,000 barrels per day during August 2026, with Iraq leading the nations contributing to this rise. The alliance's total output reached 38.055 million barrels per day in August, up from 37.757 million recorded in the previous July. Delving into the report's details, the production of OPEC member countries alone increased by approximately 346,000 barrels per day last month, bringing their total output to 24.081 million barrels per day, compared to 23.735 million in July 2026. Saudi Arabia and six other "OPEC+" nations had previously decided to maintain their current oil production levels unchanged for October 2026. These developments occur as the seven nations (plus the UAE before its withdrawal from the group) successfully eliminated voluntary production cuts totaling 2.2 million barrels per day in September 2025, followed by 1.65 million in September 2026. Beyond these voluntary reductions, the "OPEC+" alliance continues to implement standing cuts of 2 million barrels per day since November 2022, which are slated to remain in effect until the end of 2026. Iraq topped the list of countries that boosted their production, increasing its crude output by approximately 664,000 barrels per day, bringing its total to 3.378 million barrels per day. Kazakhstan followed, with its crude oil production rising by 159,000 barrels per day in August, reaching a total of 1.807 million barrels per day. The UAE also increased its oil production by about 54,000 barrels per day, recording 3.835 million barrels per day. It is noteworthy that the UAE's data remains included in the OPEC report despite its withdrawal, as its membership in the organization officially concludes only at the end of 2026, in accordance with internal regulations. Oil production increases in August extended to other countries as well: Kuwait by 49,000 barrels per day, Nigeria by 35,000 barrels per day, Venezuela by 23,000 barrels per day, Gabon by 10,000 barrels per day, and Algeria by 5,000 barrels per day. On the other hand, Iran registered the largest decline in crude oil production, with a decrease of 399,000 barrels per day, bringing its total to 2.086 million barrels per day during August. Russia's crude output also fell by 160,000 barrels per day, settling at 8.718 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia's crude oil production saw a decrease of approximately 75,000 barrels per day, with the total reaching 7.276 million barrels per day, according to monitoring firms' estimates. The Kingdom informed OPEC of a production drop of 1.9 million barrels per day, to 6.238 million barrels per day, which marks the lowest monthly production level since 1990. Conversely, the Kingdom's crude supplies to the market amounted to 7.122 million barrels per day in the past August. This discrepancy between supply and production suggests that the Kingdom resorted to drawing from its oil inventories to meet market demand, according to Bloomberg. Oil production also declined in August in several other countries: Malaysia by 16,000 barrels per day, South Sudan by 10,000 barrels per day, Libya by 9,000 barrels per day, Oman by 9,000 barrels per day, Equatorial Guinea by 8,000 barrels per day, Azerbaijan by 7,000 barrels per day, Bahrain by 3,000 barrels per day, Sudan by 2,000 barrels per day, the Republic of Congo by 1,000 barrels per day, and Mexico by 1,000 barrels per day. In contrast, Brunei maintained its crude oil production stable at 90,000 barrels per day during August.