The current rise in global crude oil prices could see Iraq add as much as US$8 billion to its coffers, Aswat Al Iraq reported the Secretarty-General of Iraq’s Council of Ministers as saying.
“The increase of the crude oil prices in the world shall add more than $8 billion to the Iraqi budget this year,” Ali Al-Allaq told Al-Sabah newspaper on Tuesday.
He said that the extra cashflow would add to the budget to implement the various projects the country has planned.
“If we suppose that the increase on each barrel of oil shall add $10 to its price, assigned in the current budget, being $76 per barrel, the expected increase for this year shall reach US$7.2 billion dollars,” Allaq said.
He added that the Iraqi government expects this budget figure to increase.
In early February the Iraqi government submitted a revised draft budget for the approval of MPs due to the rise in oil prices. It was based on an anticipated export amount of around 2.2 million bpd which included 150,000 bpd from Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Iraq’s current oil production stands at 2.5 million bpd, with exports on average at 2 million bpd, however production is expected to rise to 3 million bpd by the end of this year. Iraq has not exported 2.2 million bpd oil since the 2003 invasion.
