MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Oil production in Middle East countries may peak at almost 30 million barrels per day around 2020, Norwegian consulting firm Rystad Energy AS said on Monday. Iran and Iraq will account for the highest growth, company’s expert said.

The overall production in this region rose from 24 mln to 26 mln barrels daily from 2010 to 2015, Rystad Energy said.

"While Saudi Arabia accounts for around 40% of the region’s oil production, Iraq and Iran are the countries where oil production is expected to see the highest growth over the next decade," the consultancy reported.

"Iraq’s production growth is underpinned by the launch of the second development phase of the Lukoil-operated Qurna West-2 field, as well as increasing volumes from the Nahr bin Umar field, the second phase of the Majnoon and the third phase of the Halfayah developments," Rystad Energy said. The first phase of the South Azadegan project is expected to contribute to Iran’s oil production growth over the next five years, it added.

Nearly 65% of total discovered oil resources since 2000 in the Middle East have not been put into development yet, Rystad Energy reported. "This means that almost 13 billion barrels of resources are waiting to start to deliver volumes in the future. In fact, the majority of these discoveries has a breakeven price below 40 $/bbl, which suggests that we are likely to see these fields being put on stream even if current low oil prices prevail for a longer time," the company said.

Significant oil discoveries over the last decade will ensure stable oil production potential in the future, company’s experts said. "Coupled with low breakeven oil prices, current discoveries will make it possible for the region to keep oil supply high even in a prolonged low oil price environment," Rystad Energy reported.