OPEC Oil Production in Middle East Plummets Sharply, Global Oil Prices Surge
Several major oil-producing nations in the Middle East have begun significantly reducing oil production amid escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf region.
Disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have hindered oil exports from the region, forcing major producers such as Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to reduce production. This situation marks one of the most serious operational disruptions to global energy markets in recent years.
As a result, crude oil has accumulated at storage facilities in Gulf countries, forcing energy companies and local governments to cut production due to limited storage capacity. An inevitable spike in oil prices has followed. Brent crude oil has even surpassed $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Based on monitoring by Kompas.com on Monday 9 March 2026 at 11:20, global oil prices today broke through $110 per barrel. The Brent crude benchmark stood at $115.98 per barrel, according to OilPrice.com data.
Iraq is the country most severely affected by oil export disruptions. The OPEC member state is experiencing an exceptionally steep production decline due to its dependence on export terminals in the southern region that handle oil shipments to Asia.
Industry sources told Reuters that oil production from Iraq’s major southern oil fields has fallen approximately 70 per cent to only around 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd).
This production decline has occurred because exports through the Strait of Hormuz have practically halted. The narrow sea lane connecting the Persian Gulf to international waters is one of the world’s most critical energy routes, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows.
An official from the Basra Oil Company (BOC), the state-owned enterprise managing production and exports from Iraq’s southern fields, stated that crude oil storage facilities have reached maximum capacity.
The disruption has also severely impacted Iraqi oil exports. According to industry sources, Iraqi oil exports plummeted to approximately 800,000 bpd on Sunday 8 March 2026—far lower than the 3.334 million bpd exported from southern Iraqi fields in February 2026, according to Iraqi Ministry of Oil documents.
This export decline threatens to strain Iraq’s fiscal position, which is heavily dependent on oil sales. Oil revenues account for more than 90 per cent of government receipts and fund nearly all public expenditure. “This is the most serious operational threat Iraq has faced in over 20 years,” the official said, as quoted by CNBC.
Oil export disruption impacts are also beginning to affect Kuwait, one of OPEC’s major oil producers. The Kuwaiti government has announced that the country has reduced both oil production and refinery output as tankers cannot navigate the Persian Gulf due to threats from Iran.