Iraq Oil Exports From Southern Ports Average in April

Iraq's crude oil exports from its southern ports averaged 3.340 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, lower than in March, because of maintenance at loading terminals early in the month, the Oil Ministry said on Tuesday.

The March average was 3.45 million bpd.

Exports from the south are managed by the central government in Baghdad. The semi-autonomous Kurdistan region exports about 300,000 bpd of crude from northern Iraq through a pipeline across Turkey.

There were no exports in March from the Kirkuk fields, located in northern Iraq but under the control of Baghdad, the Oil Ministry said in a statement.

Kirkuk oil exports stopped in October, when Iraqi government troops backed by Shi'ite paramilitary forces dislodged Kurdish fighters from the region.

Reporting by Aref Mohammed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli