The southern region produces most of the OPEC member's crude oil. The northern Kurdish regional government exports about 500,000 bpd through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, on the Mediterranean, but that is done independent of the central government in Baghdad which oversees crude sales from the south.
Iraqi officials and oil analysts expect further growth in the country's exports this year, although at a slower rate than in 2015 when it was the fastest source of OPEC supply growth.