Petroleum production in Middle East countries during 1988 totaled an estimated 5,268,086,000 bbl (an average rate of 14,433,112 b/d), up considerably from the revised 1987 total of 4,601,056,000 bbl. Substantial increases in production were spread throughout most Middle East countries but were particularly noticeable in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen Arab Republic. Iran and the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Divided Neutral Zone had production decreases. The cease-fire in the war between Iran and Iraq in July was the incentive for a burst of exploration and producing activity in the Gulf area in the second half of 1988. The completion of the pipe line to the Red Sea in the Yemen Arab Republic established that country as a major Middle East exporter of crude for the fir t time. New and mature areas were still yielding significant discoveries in the Yemen Arab Republic, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, Iraq, Abu Dhabi, Syria, and Oman.