Iraq's oil output has reached 2.5 million barrels per day from around 2.4 million bpd, Iraq's newly appointed oil minister said on Wednesday.

'Production has increased after the success of Iraqi workers and international oil companies to shortening the period of achieving the 10 per cent raise from Rumaila and Zubair oilfields in less than a year,' Abdul Kareem Luaibi said in a statement.

Iraq's parliament confirmed Luaibi as oil minister on Tuesday as it installed a new cabinet under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Former Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani was promoted to deputy prime minister for energy.

Opec member Iraq, which sits on some of the world's largest oil reserves, has struggled to push its output close to the 3 million bpd it saw in the late 1980s before it invaded neighbouring Kuwait.

Reuters surveys of Opec output pegged Iraqi production at 2.5 million bpd a year ago, but have found it dipped below that level in subsequent months. Luaibi said he expected further increases in production from other fields in the near future.

Iraq has signed deals with international oil companies that have the potential to boost its output capacity to 12 million bpd in seven years, which would place it on a par with top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. – Reuters