According to several sources close to the matter, Baghdad has recently considered leaving OPEC. Although this scenario is currently sidelined, Iraqi authorities intend to use the threat to exert pressure on the organization and secure an upward revision of their production quotas.

Iraq considers this increase to have become inevitable to confront the severe financial crisis the country is facing, exacerbated by the economic consequences of the war with Iran.

Should Iraq leave OPEC, it would represent another major blow following the departure of the United Arab Emirates on May 1.

According to the American television network CNBC, Bloomberg cited an Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesperson signaling that a "decision will have to be made regarding staying or withdrawing" if oil quotas are not raised.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry stated later this Thursday that reports suggesting Baghdad might end its OPEC membership "did not reflect the official position of the Iraqi government," but added that it continues to emphasize the importance of a review of oil production quotas.

Ranking just behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq is OPEC's second-largest crude oil producer and its economy is one of the most oil-dependent in the world: crude oil sales fund approximately 90% of government revenue. Black gold accounts for nearly half of the country's real GDP and more than 95% of its total export value.

Its finances can quickly fall into the red whenever global crude prices drop or maritime routes (such as the Strait of Hormuz) are disrupted by geopolitical tensions.

Founded following the Baghdad Conference on September 14, 1960, by five founding members (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela), at the initiative of Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, (then Venezuela's Minister of Development), OPEC originally aimed to rebalance relations between producing countries and the Western oil companies that had governed the market since the end of the 19th century. It thus aspires to be a regulatory force in the oil market.