Iraq Poised to Lead World Oil Supply Growth, but Obstacles Loom
Iraq could add more than any other nation to global oil supply, but it faces challenges that could roil world energy markets, says the International Energy Agency.
"We all have an interest in Iraq realizing its potential and revitalizing its economy," said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, at a news conference in London to unveil the agency's Iraq forecast.
IEA's Iraq Energy Outlook comes just weeks after the agency's figures confirmed that Iraq had made staggering progress in rebuilding its oil production, reaching output of 3 million barrels per day (bpd), its highest output since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq now has surpassed Iran as OPEC's second-largest producer for the first time since the 1980s.
The report forecasts that Iraq will double its oil production to 6 million bpd by 2020, and will ratchet its output to 8 million bpd by
