Iraqi's oil minister said Monday an expected surge in his country's oil supply over the next few years will provide a «safety valve» to stabilize oil prices. Hussain al-Shahristani said Iraq's oil production capacity is expected to more than quadruple to 12 million barrels a day by 2017 with up to a dozen deals with international oil companies awarded in recent years. «Our projection for the next two decades is that the world will require additional oil. There is no other source that can replace oil ... any additional demand for oil particularly in Asian markets will have to be met by Iraqi oil,» he told a regional oil and gas conference. Al-Shahristani, who has said current world crude prices were reasonable, pledged Iraq would not «flood the market» to influence oil prices, according to a report of the Associated Press. «We will only produce what the market requires,» he said. «I believe the Iraqi supply will provide a safety valve to dampen oil price volatility ... and ensure dependable long term oil supply to the energy market.» Al-Shahristani said estimated investment in the 11 oil fields is about $150 billion, with combined production capacity of more than 60 billion barrels of oil over the next two decades. He said the government will open bidding for three gas fields in September, with combined reserves of 25 trillion cubic feet. Iraq also plans to build four new refineries that will help it become a net exporter of petroleum products in the next few years, he said.
