Iraq's oil exports rose in May to 1.9 million barrels per day from 1.767 million bpd the month before, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organisation (Somo) said on Tuesday.

Iraq exported an average of 1.460 million bpd from the southern oil hub of Basra and 440,000 bpd from the northern oilfields around Kirkuk, including 10,000 bpd by trucks to Jordan, Somo head Falah Alamri told Reuters.

The average selling price was about $73.70 per barrel.

Iraq's oil exports in May were expected to exceed 1.9 million barrels per day, recovering from a dip in April caused by bad weather and a bomb attack, the head of the Somo said last month.

Alamri said he expected oil exports to rise over the coming months in excess of 1.9 million barrels per day.

'If everything moves as planned, we could export more then 1.9 million barrels per day starting next month. Exports will be increased further,' Alamri told Reuters.

Exports from Basra, Iraq's main oil-exporting hub, can fluctuate widely due to weather conditions or technical problems, while repeated bomb attacks hampered crude flow from Kirkuk fields in recent months.

The Opec member has signed deals with global oil firms that could boost its output capacity to 12 million bpd in six to seven years' time from the current 2.5 million bpd.

That would rival top producer Saudi Arabia's capacity, and is viewed by most industry experts as a highly ambitious target. Iraq hopes the deals will generate the billions of dollars desperately needed to rebuild the economy.-Reuters