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ECONOMY
An employee turns a valve at the Nahr Bin Omar natural gas field, north of the southern Iraqi port of Basra, April 21, 2020. Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq took advantage of OPEC+ production cuts by maintaining export levels and increasing revenue, an Iraqi official said on Saturday.
“Iraq did not reduce its exports according to this reduction, but rather reduced domestic production and invested in the rising prices by stabilizing the export rate, a strategy that succeeded in achieving high financial revenues," deputy general manager of the Iraqi National Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) Saadoun Mohsen told Iraqi state media.
The ministers from the 13-nation OPEC group and Russian-led exporters met in Vienna last month and agreed to cut oil production by two million barrels per day starting from November.
“OPEC Plus produces 43 million barrels per day, and the proportion of what Iraq produces is 11% of it,” Mohsen said, adding that Iraq’s percentage has remained the same despite the cuts in production.
The OPEC+ decision to cut oil production was largely criticized by the US, who relies mainly on oil imports to heat the country.
US President Joe Biden slammed the decision to cut production as “shortsighted” at the time.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, was among the main countries lobbying for a cut in oil production.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the time dismissed claims that the decision would negatively impact the market.
Oil prices increased amid shortfall fears following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, with the US repeatedly urging members of the oil cartel to increase their oil production in an effort to balance the market.
The Iraqi government depends on oil revenues to pay the salaries of civil servants and cover the costs. The country’s economy is once again booming as oil prices are increasing globally despite suffering in much of 2021 due to record low oil prices.
The Iraqi oil ministry said earlier this month that it collected over $9 billion in oil revenue for the month of October, the first time the country has reported an increase in monthly oil revenue in three months.
“Iraq did not reduce its exports according to this reduction, but rather reduced domestic production and invested in the rising prices by stabilizing the export rate, a strategy that succeeded in achieving high financial revenues," deputy general manager of the Iraqi National Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) Saadoun Mohsen told Iraqi state media.
The ministers from the 13-nation OPEC group and Russian-led exporters met in Vienna last month and agreed to cut oil production by two million barrels per day starting from November.
“OPEC Plus produces 43 million barrels per day, and the proportion of what Iraq produces is 11% of it,” Mohsen said, adding that Iraq’s percentage has remained the same despite the cuts in production.
The OPEC+ decision to cut oil production was largely criticized by the US, who relies mainly on oil imports to heat the country.
US President Joe Biden slammed the decision to cut production as “shortsighted” at the time.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, was among the main countries lobbying for a cut in oil production.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the time dismissed claims that the decision would negatively impact the market.
Oil prices increased amid shortfall fears following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, with the US repeatedly urging members of the oil cartel to increase their oil production in an effort to balance the market.
The Iraqi government depends on oil revenues to pay the salaries of civil servants and cover the costs. The country’s economy is once again booming as oil prices are increasing globally despite suffering in much of 2021 due to record low oil prices.
The Iraqi oil ministry said earlier this month that it collected over $9 billion in oil revenue for the month of October, the first time the country has reported an increase in monthly oil revenue in three months.
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