Amman (Platts)--7Oct2009/636 am EDT/1036 GMT

Iraqi crude production, as measured at the wellhead, rose to 2.502 million b/d in September from 2.49 million b/d in August, continuing the recovery seen through much of this year, according to oil ministry figures obtained by Platts Wednesday.

The rise was mainly due to higher output from northern Iraqi oil fields centered around the giant Kirkuk field, where wellhead production in September was 677,000 b/d, 12,000 b/d higher than August's rate of 665,000 b/d, albeit still below the level of 870,000 b/d achieved in February 2003 before the US-led invasion of the country later that year.

Wellhead production from the southern oil fields in September was 1.825 million b/d, the ministry figures showed, similar to the rate in August. Iraq's oil exports in September totaled 1.958 million b/d, down 51,000 b/d from 2.009 million b/d in August.

Exports from the northern fields last month fell to 497,000 b/d, down from 520,000 b/d in August. The northern exports included 51,000 b/d of fuel oil mixed in with the exported crude.

FUEL OIL BLENDING

The blending of fuel oil volumes into crude has affected the API quality of the northern crude exports by about two degrees, prompting protests by traders and customers of the crude in the Mediterranean.

A total of 19 tankers loaded 13.071 million barrels from the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, while 1.538 million barrels were supplied by pipeline to the Turkish refinery at Kirikkale and 300,000 barrels were exported by road tanker to Jordan.

Exports from the south slightly fell to 1.461 million b/d, down from 1.489 million b/d in August.

The southern exports included 49,000 b/d of fuel oil produced by the Basrah refinery and mixed with crude.

As in the north, the addition of fuel oil to the crude exports has affected the quality, reducing the API of Basrah Light by as much as two degrees.

A total of 43.825 million barrels was loaded on to 29 tankers from the Basrah oil terminal in the Gulf.

The official ministry figures did not include any indications about the inclusion, or otherwise, of production or exports from the Kurdistan oil fields of Tawke and Taq Taq.

Exports from these two fields were announced with a lot of fanfare on June 1 and their oil was supposed to be exported via the federally run northern export system to Turkey at an initial rate of 40,000 b/d.

The recent increase in production and exports, mainly from northern fields, should come as a relief to the Iraqi oil ministry, which is under pressure to raise production in order to increase revenues in the face of production declines at the southern oil fields.

INTERNAL SUPPLY RISES

Internal supply rates to local refineries and power stations totaled 601,000 b/d in September, compared with 563,000 b/d in August.

The unaccounted for oil in the south during September--a figure obtained by subtracting the total of the southern export rate and the internal supply rate from the wellhead southern production rate, adjusting for the slight increase in local stock levels and discounting the mixed fuel oil rate--was calculated by Platts to be 94,000 b/d last month, up from 74,000 b/d in July.

The presence of these discrepancies in the figures has fueled allegations of widespread smuggling and corruption within the Iraqi oil sector.

--Faleh al-Khayat, newsdesk@platts.com