Iraqi oil bottlenecks bigger obstacle than unrest: IEA

Fighting in Iraq threatens Baghdad''s oil exports less than structural bottlenecks, but an Islamic offensive near the north oil hub of Kirkuk is "worrisome", the IEA said on Tuesday. "The situation on the ground is highly fluid and infrastructure bottlenecks in the south, rather than the humanitarian disaster in the north, may remain the biggest hurdle to Iraq''s ability to deliver the supply growth expected from it," the International Energy Agency said.
The analysis in its monthly report was written as US air strikes appeared to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters push back an advance by Islamic State (IS) fighters on the crucial Bai Hassan oil field in northern Iraq. Fighting has forced the country''s biggest refinery at Baiji offline however, and "has also brought the battle to a number of blocks operated by international oil companies - including two run by Exxon," the IEA noted.