Iraq Plots Oil Expansion and Alternative Routes to Reduce Strait Vulnerability

Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Washington on July 13 seeking to increase national oil output from 4.5 million to 7 million barrels per day within three years. Baghdad also aims to establish export routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, where 90 percent of its crude currently passes. The recent closure of the strait during the US-Israel war on Iran underscores Iraq's vulnerability. A proposed joint energy fund with the US, initially structured on 500,000 bpd, could scale to 2 million bpd.