* Shipments rise to 2.6 mln bpd from 2.4 mln bpd in March
* Exports keep global markets well supplied despite Iransanctions
* Shell's Majnoon to resume operations May 1 with output of100,000 bpd
SEOUL, April 30 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil exports rose in Aprilto 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd), the country's oil ministersaid on Tuesday, helping to keep global markets well supplied asshipments from regional rival Iran are crimped by tighteningWestern sanctions.
Rising exports may help Iraq cement its position as OPEC'ssecond-largest producer, even though creaking infrastructure and civil unrest hampering work at some of its top fields have keptthe country short of a 2013 target of 2.9 million bpd.
Kirkuk is the key field holding back Iraq from boostingexports. Part of the so-called disputed territories claimed byboth the Arab-led central government and the autonomousKurdistan region in the north, it sits on 8.5 billion barrels ofcrude reserves.
"It is a pity as 250,000 bpd of supply from Kurdish fieldshas been suspended," Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi toldreporters in the South Korean capital.
"If the supply from the northern region is resumed, on whichwe continue to have discussions, we think our export target of2.9 million bpd will be reached."
Iraq's total oil production was 3.1 million bpd in April,Luaibi said, adding that the country was sticking with its 2013export target, and targets 3.4 million bpd next year.
Iraq's oil exports were 2.417 million bpd in the previousmonth.
RISING EXPORTS
Rising exports have also kept a lid on oil prices, despitethe fall in Iran's sales. Tough Western sanctions on Tehran overits controversial nuclear programme have increased thedifficulty of paying for and shipping the oil, cutting exportsby more than half last year.
After stagnating for decades due to wars and sanctions,Iraq's oil output and exports have began to rise in earnestsince 2010, after Baghdad secured service pacts with firms suchas BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and ExxonMobil.
Shell will resume operations at the Majnoon oilfield asplanned on May 1, with an initial production of 100,000 bpd,Luaibi said. The minister said he expected output from theMajnoon field to reach 175,000 bpd soon.
Luaibi, in Seoul to strengthen ties between the two nations,said Iraq was exporting 200,000 bpd of crude to South Koreanrefiners in 2013 under term contracts, but gave no details.
Asian refiners are scouring for alternative supplies as theycontinue to reduce dependence on Iranian oil to ensure theyqualify for a six-monthly exemption from U.S. sanctions, or riskgetting cut off from the U.S. financial system.
South Korea cut Iranian crude imports by 36 percent to153,000 bpd in 2012.
Ali Nazar, a senior official at state-run Iraqi oilmarketing company SOMO who accompanied Luaibi, said South Koreanrefiners were asking for an increase in term supplies of Iraqioil over last year's figure, and also wanted more for next year,but declined to give any specific figure.
