"The Ministry of Oil has achieved self-sufficiency through progress made in the oil sector - particularly in liquid fuels - including gasoline, gas oil, and kerosene, in quantities exceeding domestic consumption rates," the state news agency quoted a document from the prime minister’s office as saying, Reuters reported.

Iraq has ramped up oil production and exports, partly through the success of its Nasiriyah field as well as increased production quotas within the OPEC+ agreement. Specifically, production at the Nasiriyah field has increased to 80,000 barrels a day by bringing nine wells online, with the country's total oil exports averaging between 3.4 and 3.45 million barrels a day in September, according to oilprice.com.

Meanwhile, Iraq has been revamping its refining infrastructure. Iraq’s Oil Ministry has been working round the clock to bolster refining capacity since the formation of a new government in late-2022.

Iraq, an OPEC member, currently has refining nameplate capacity  of around 1.3 million barrels per day, with plans to further boost it to over 1.5 million barrels per day in the near future.

Previously, the country’s refining sector was badly degraded by frequent terrorist attacks, including the destruction of the Shamal (North) refinery with output of 150,000 b/d by the Daesh (ISIL or iSIS) terrorist group in 2014.

Iraq has unveiled several initiatives aimed at ameliorating its power shortages. Back in April, the country signed agreements with GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) and UGT Renewables, to produce 27,000MW of electricity. 

Back in 2023, Iraq awarded TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE), Basrah Oil Company and QatarEnergy the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), a multi-billion dollar, four-part initiative that aims to increase oil and gas production, reduce gas flaring, enhance energy independence, and boost electricity supply.

GGIP combines four sub-projects: gas, solar, oil, and water. The gas project aims to recover flared gas from multiple oil fields to supply power plants. The Ratawi field development is a major part of this, aiming to produce 210,000 b/d and eliminate routine flaring. The solar project involves constructing a 1 GW solar power plant to provide carbon-free energy while the oil project aims at developing the Ratawi oil field to increase oil and gas output. Meanwhile, the water project involves building a Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) to supply seawater to oil fields and help conserve the country's freshwater resources.