Oil exports from Iraq rose to a record 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in February, Deputy Prime Minister for energy Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters on Saturday.

The figure was up from 2.228 million bpd in January. Production reached 3.5 million bpd in February.

Shahristani attributed the increase to the completion of work to expand the export capacity of its southern Basra port, from which the bulk of Iraq's crude is shipped.

"These projects which we carried out relating to development and production have enabled Iraq to produce 3.5 million barrels per day and to export 2.8 million barrels per day, which is a historic figure," Shahristani told reporters at the Basra refinery as he attended a ceremony for the opening of new units.

Of the 2.8 million bpd exported in February, 2.5 million was exported from the southern port of Basra, Shahristani said.-Reuters