Iraq exported an average of 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude in September, the lowest rate so far this year, oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.

The slowdown was due to maintenance and expansion of Iraq's southern export terminals, Jihad said. In August, Iraq exported an average 2.579 million bpd.

"We expect to significantly increase exports in October to compensate for lost shipment in September due to maintenance operations on the southern terminals," Jihad said.

After the expansion, export capacity from the Basra terminals will be higher than 4.5 million bpd, Jihad said. The work is expected to be completed this month. The average selling price of a barrel of Iraqi crude was $104 in September.

Of the 2.07 million barrels exported per day, 1.821 million were shipped from Basra, 244,000 bpd pumped through a pipeline from the northern Kirkuk oilfields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, and 5,000 bpd trucked to neighbouring Jordan.-Reuters