Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi said on Tuesday that he wants a "fair share" for his country, as Baghdad seeks energy deals from US President Donald Trump.
"Iraq is one of the founding members of Opec ... Our right is to receive a fair share for Iraq," Mr Al Zaidi told reporters during a bilateral meeting at the White House, during his week-long stay in Washington.
Mr Al Zaidi spoke of Iraq's past conflict with ISIS, which overran large parts of the country in 2014. He said the damage suffered by Iraq until the group was conquered in 2017 exceeded $400 billion.
"To this day, some Iraqis still have destroyed homes and are living in camps. I have a plan to return them to their homes and that is why I want a fair share for Iraq in Opec," he said.
The challenges facing Iraq and its push for a higher production quota add to those facing Opec, which the UAE left in May. Iraq's current production quota is 4.378 million barrels a day.
While Iraq had previously warned it might leave Opec in the future, Mr Al Zaidi said he has no plans to do so. Iraq, which is the group's second-largest producer, is aiming to boost its crude oil production to 7 million bpd within the next three years.
Mr Al Zaidi is in Washington seeking to attract US investment in Iraq's oil and gas sectors, which have been battered by the Iran war. Baghdad is heavily reliant on exporting its products through the Strait of Hormuz. About 90 per cent of its 3.4 million barrels of output passed through the waterway before the conflict.
Crude oil exports make up a large part of Iraq's economy. Oil export revenue last year accounted for about 88 per cent of its total government revenue, according to the World Bank.
Iraq has been one of the hardest hit by the Iran conflict. Its oil production fell from 4.2 million bpd in February - before the strait's effective closure - to 1.45 million bpd in May, according to Opec data. Its seaborne crude and condensate exports fell to 260kbd in May, 8 per cent of the 2025 average, according to an analysis from cargo-tracking company Vortexa.
The International Monetary Fund projects Iraq's economy to contract by 6.8 per cent this year.
Trump previews 'massive' oil deals
During his meeting with Mr Trump, Mr Al Zaidi said he aims to build a strong economic partnership with the US, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office.
"With the conclusion of the US military presence in Iraq under the International Coalition to Defeat ISIS, there will instead be an economic presence through US companies," it read. "He stressed that it is people-to-people relations that support economic co-operation, rather than a military partnership."
Mr Trump previewed "massive" oil deals between Washington and Baghdad. He did not outline details.
“Iraq has tremendous potential because of their oil and because of other things,” he said.
“We’re going to create a lot of jobs for both countries, and we’re going to be taking out a lot of oil. A lot of oil is coming out, and the American companies are doing it.”
The Iraqi government is expected to sign a deal with Chevron and TI Capital, as well as with Qatar's UCC, to build an oil pipeline connecting southern Iraq's Basra to ports in Turkey and Syria, AP reported.
Chevron entered exclusive talks with Iraq over the West Qurna 2 oilfield in February, replacing Russian oil company Lukoil, which had withdrawn from the project after it was hit with US sanctions. It is one of two major oilfields the US major is in negotiations to develop, along with Nasiriyah.
In Washington on Monday, Mr Al Zaidi also held talks with Tom Barrack, the special presidential envoy for Iraq, on economic relations and expanding co-operation between the two countries.
"At the heart of the Middle East, Iraq is uniquely positioned to connect the region through deeper integration with the GCC, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Central Asia, the Balkans and the Caucuses. New pipelines for energy, new roads to progress," Mr Barrack said on social media.
"A more prosperous Iraq means a more stable region – and exclusive opportunities for American business."
Before Mr Al Zaidi's visit, Iraq and Turkey reached a one-year agreement to keep the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline open.
Turkey's Energy Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, has said Iraq requested a capacity of 750,000 bpd, up from its current volumes of about 180,000 to 200,000 bpd.
