Iraq’s Proven Oil Reserves Rise

Iraq has announced an increase in the official size of its proven oil reserves estimated at 143.1 billion barrels of oil from 115 billion barrels.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told The Wall Street Journal that the government will inform OPEC about the new proven reserves.

“Most of these figures were the result of surveys conducted by these international companies, especially at oilfields such as West Qurna and Zubair,” said al-Shahristani.

Of Iraq’s total oil reserves 71% are located in the southern Iraqi governorates, particularly in Basra, while about 20% are in the northern governorate and the remaining 9% in central Iraq.

The new figures show that Iraq has the world’s second-largest reserves after Saudi Arabia with 264.59 billion barrels, and above third-placed Iran, which has 137.01 billion barrels.