Iraq's oil output rose again in December, wrapping up 2007 with a roughly 25 percent increase over last January's average, the country's oil ministry said Saturday, according to AP. The average output last month reached 2.475 million barrels per day, about 73,000 bpd more than in November, according to figures released by the State Oil Marketing Company. The figures showed that exports nearly exceeded 1.9 million bpd: about 1.6 million bpd from Basra in the south and more than 300,000 bpd from Kirkuk in the north. The December figures brought the total average of the Iraqi output for 2007 to 2.181 million bpd, a rise of 28,000 bpd over 2006. In January 2007, output was 1.9 million barrels. The average production in December from northern fields stood at about 536,000 bpd, 14,000 bpd more than in November. Production from southern fields also rose to 1.939 million bpd, from 1.88 million bpd in November.
