A temporary but dramatic drop in output at Iraq's most prolific oil field underscores the challenges of fighting natural reservoir decline and maintaining production.

Steep reduction at Rumaila brought Iraq's December production average to its lowest level in 18 months as Iraq continues to restrain output in an effort to meet OPEC-plus expectations.

A long-sought deal is getting high-level political attention, and some officials expect to clinch an initial contract in January.

OPEC-plus dynamics and the ongoing outage of Iraq's northern export pipeline continue to limit Iraqi oil exports, though revenues were steady year-on-year.

Maintenance operations at Iraq's largest fields are bringing production down as the Oil Ministry continues to cut amidst OPEC-plus pressure.

Iraq's oil sales continued a slow decline in November as the OPEC-plus coalition decided quotas will stay lower for longer.