Iraq’s Seven-Month Oil Export Revenue Exceeds $48 Billion
Iraq earned more than $48 billion in revenue from crude oil exports in the first seven months of this year, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said.
The country’s 2011 oil exports will exceed $80 billion and have already “helped the government ease the budget deficit and carry out several projects,” Luaibi said today in a speech in Baghdad.
Iraq’s oil exports now average at 2.2 million barrels a day, he said. Crude exports had declined to fewer than 2.2 million in July because of technical problems after having reached 2.273 million in June, Falah al-Amri, chairman of the State Oil Marketing Organization, said in an interview Aug. 1.
“Oil exports are due to rise to 2.5 million barrels per day next year,” Luaibi told reporters after the speech.
Iraq, home to the world’s fifth-biggest oil reserves, is struggling to boost energy exports, the main source of revenue to help rebuild an economy shattered by years of conflict and economic sanctions.
The country has signed 15 gas and oil licenses since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that ousted the regime of President Saddam Hussein. The government has also invited companies to bid for a new, fourth round of exploration rights.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nayla Razzouk in Amman at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Buckley at johnbuckley@bloomberg.net; Bill Banker at bbanker@bloomberg.net
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