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.

Iraqi gas imports have fallen by about 70 percent after Iran scheduled a temporary pipeline maintenance period to prioritize its own energy supply.

The Oil Ministry made major cuts at state-operated fields in October in a bid to answer OPEC-plus concerns over quota compliance.