Opec is worried that it may not be able to control the world supply of oil as Iraq’s oil fields start to pump out more and more, reports The Times Online.

Oil exports from Iraq were at their highest for 20 years in February at 2.08 million barrels a day and the plan is to increase that to 2.15 million barrels per day for the remainder of the year.

 Iraq has recently signed deals with a variety of multinational oil companies including Shell, BP and ExxonMobil raising the prospects of an even bigger surge in oil production in the next few years.

Iraq was suspended from Opec quotas in 2003 but with increasing oil production the cartel wants to bring the country back under their influence. The Centre for Global Energy Studies said ““If [Iraq] enjoys a period of stability, it could have a major destabilising effect on Opec and the oil price”.

Opec really wants to keep the price of oil at around $70-$80 a barrel and an increase in oil production in Iraq could mean oil prices fall as the amount of oil available on the market increases.

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Source: The Times Online

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