Saturday January 12, 2008 6:01 PM
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraq’s average oil output rose again in December, marking a roughly 30 percent increase since the start of 2007, the country’s oil ministry said Saturday.
The average output last month reached 2.475 million barrels per day, according to figures released by the State Oil Marketing Company. In January 2007, output was 1.9 million barrels.
Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that removed Saddam Hussein from power, Iraqi production has mostly hovered between 1.7 million and 2 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency. Its prewar production was 2.58 million barrels per day.