Production of oil in Iraq reaching new highs

Since Saddam Hussein was toppled in the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi oil production figures have been bleak. However, new signs are being revealed that Iraqi oil output is at its best since the fall of Hussein. The Iraqi oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, stated that about 2.5 million barrels of oil are now produced per day, a figure that has seen a rise lately. During the invasion of Iraq, lead by the United States, oil output was at about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and before the invasion oil production ranged from 3 million to, at its peak, 3.5 million bpd. Mr Shahristani told CNN that he expects Iraqi oil exports to soon target that of the oil giant Saudi Arabia. Citigroup, a large investment and banking firm, stated that, "Shahristani announced that Iraq hoped to be producing 4.3 million bpd by 2010, and perhaps less convincingly, suggested that Iraq would be challenging Saudi Arabia by 2015."