Daily Energy Report
US pressures Iraq on oil exports, Peak oil demand, US gas to Asia, US refiners mull switch, Nat gas future, EU seeks more US gas, Trump impacts Hydrogen, US LNG expansion, US offshore wind, and more.
February 21, 2025
Chart of the Day
Reuters: U.S. Piles Pressure on Iraq to Resume Kurdish Oil Exports, Sources say
Summary
Trump’s administration is pushing Iraq to restart Kurdish oil exports or face sanctions with Iran, aiming to counter Tehran’s oil revenue and nuclear goals. Iraq, pressured by the US, plans to resume 300 kb/d via Turkey next week, redirecting 200 kb/d of crude smuggled to Iran. This could ease global oil prices, but payment disputes and OPEC+ limits may mute the impact, covering only a fraction of Iran’s 2 mb/d exports.
Figure (1) shows monthly trends Iraq’s seaborne crude exports. Any exports form the North via pipeline to Turkey is counted as Turkey’s seaborn crude exports, not Iraq..
EOA’s Main Takeaways
To the naked eye, it appears the Trump Administration is seeking additional supplies to lower prices while enforcing sanctions on Iran and Russia. However, the issues are more complex than they seem as we explain in the 6 points below.