Energy-rich states of the Gulf Cooperation Council do not feel threatened by Iraq's plans to massively expand its oil production, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Iraq has awarded a number of contracts to international oil companies with the aim of boosting its crude production from the current 2.5 million barrels per day to above 10 million bpd during the next several years.
"We are not threatened by Iraq's plans to expand its oil production," Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah, whose country is the current president of the GCC, told a press conference.
The six-nation Gulf bloc, which boasts around 45 percent of proven global crude reserves and as much as a quarter of the world's gas resources, pumps around 15 million bpd, or just under one-fifth of world consumption.
Iraq on Saturday awarded oil contracts to foreign giants at an auction it hopes will hike output to 12 million barrels a day and put it on a par with the world's top exporter Arab neighbour Saudi Arabia.
Its oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, said his country's oil output would reach 12 million bpd within the next six years, up from the current 2.5 million bpd, based on all the contracts it is negotiating.
At 115 billion barrels, Iraq has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves, behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran. Oil sales provide 85 percent of government revenues.
Saudi Arabia, which holds the world's largest oil reserves at 262 billion barrels, has a production capacity of just over 12 million bpd and is currently pumping around eight million bpd.
Oil revenues contribute more than 80 percent of total income for most Gulf states and as much as 95 percent in states like Kuwait.
The GCC alliance is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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