FAW, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq opened a new Gulf crude export outlet in the southern oil hub of Basra on Sunday, clearing the way for Baghdad to increase exports by around 200,000 barrels per day from next month once crude begins loading.
Loading at the Single Point Mooring outlet for tankers in the Gulf, part of Iraq's large-scale export facility expansion plan, has already been delayed several times by bad weather and technical hitches.
Water will be pumped through the terminal for testing to allow crude to start flowing in a week to 10 days, the head of state-run South Oil Company, Dhiya Jaffar, said at an opening ceremony.
If the project goes according to plan, exports from Iraq's southern oilfields will rise to 1.9 million bpd by March and bring Iraq's total shipments to 2.3 million bpd, the highest level since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy and Aref Mohammed in Basra Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
