Iraq has launched the third and final phase of work to expand its southern Halfaya oil field, aiming to double its output capacity in 2018 to 400,000b/d, Middle East Monitor reported, citing a state-run oil company.

Maysan Oil Company’s Head, Adnan Noshi, stated to Reuters that Halfaya’s expansion includes additional facilities to separate crude oil from associated natural gas.

The field is operated by PetroChina and corresponds to Maysan Oil’s largest field, producing 200,000b/d of Maysan’s total output of 380,000b/d, according to Noshi.

The expansion should raise the company’s overall output to nearly 600,000b/d in 2018, he said.

Iraq’s Oil Minister, Jabar Al-Luaibi, announced early April that the country’s output stood at more than 4.7mb/d. Yet, Iraq plans to increase its oil production capacity to 5mb/d before the end of 2017.

Iraq is the second largest producer among the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after Saudi Arabia, and it has reduced its output alongside other oil exporters in 2017 as part of an agreement aimed at boosting crude prices.