May 13, 2012. Iraq, seeking to more than double oil output by 2015, is poised to overtake Iran as OPEC's second- largest producer by the end of the year as sanctions hobble crude production in its Persian Gulf neighbor. Iraq is pumping at the highest rate since Saddam Hussein seized power in 1979, supported by foreign investors such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc that are developing new fields and reworking older deposits. The country produced 3.03 million barrels a day in April, 7.7 percent more than in March, while Iranian production declined to 3.2 million barrels a day. Iraq's output last exceeded Iran's in 1988, when the countries ended their eight-year war. With oil supplies rising from Libya and Saudi Arabia, the recovery of Iraq's biggest foreign-currency earner is helping to alleviate concern that a European Union embargo on Iranian crude starting July 1 will squeeze global output. Tensions over Iran's nuclear program and the prospect of curbs on its oil sales pushed Brent crude to a 3 1/2-year high of $128.40 a barrel on March 1. Oil fell to as low as $111.40 on May 11. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to meet in Vienna to assess output after absorbing Iraq into its quota system when the group raised its ceiling to 30 million barrels a day in December. Oil prices of $100 to $120 a barrel are “acceptable” and won't damage the world economy, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said. Ali al-Naimi, oil minister of Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, said that prices are too high. Global supply outweighs demand, and prices need to fall to the equivalent of about $100 a barrel for Brent, al-Naimi said.