Reuters reported on the 3rd (local time), citing multiple local officials, that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's crude oil shipments pass, will cut Iraq's oil production by 3 million Barrels per day within days.
Iraqi officials said, "If tankers cannot move through the Strait of Hormuz, within days we will face a situation where we must cut daily oil production by more than 3 million Barrels."
According to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iraq's daily oil production in Jan. this year was about 4.1 million Barrels.
They said that since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on the 28th, output has been reduced by 700,000 Barrels per day at the Rumaila oil field and 460,000 Barrels at the West Qurna 2 field through today.
They added that as oil exports have been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, oil stockpiles at ports in southern Iran have reached a "critical level."
Ebrahim Javari, a commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, earlier warned, "The Strait of Hormuz is now closed," and said, "We will sink every vessel that tries to pass through the strait and block even a single drop of oil from being exported to drive international oil prices up to $200 per Barrel."