Political vacuum could upend key Oil Ministry plans

Iraq's Oil Ministry has secured an agreement to fund the expansion of the Nassiriya oil field, doubling production capacity to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), but the loan depends on a 2020 budget law that is stuck in political limbo.

The uncertainty around financing a major new source of production capacity is just the latest example of how Iraq’s ongoing political crisis — prompted by a nationwide protest movement, and compounded by conflict between Iran and the U.S. — is disrupting the country’s oil sector.