$115 billion.. Iraq achieves record revenues in 2022 from the sale of oil

The 2022 oil revenues in Iraq exceeded $115 billion, according to preliminary figures issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, which are the highest in years, especially during the significant decline in its prices when the Corona pandemic spread.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, said in a press statement in Baghdad that the oil export operations were carried out according to studies of the oil market for companies of various nationalities, Chinese, Indian, South Korean, Turkish, Greek, American, British, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and others, as well as other Arab companies.

According to a statement issued by the Iraqi Oil Ministry, the daily export rate of crude reached 3 million and 320 thousand barrels last year.

Iraq's achievement of these revenues comes in light of the increase in the price of a barrel of oil, affected by the Russian war on Ukraine, and with the countries of the "OPEC Plus" (OPEC +) alliance keeping their production quotas as they are.

The coalition had decided to cut production quotas by two million barrels per day to support prices.

The rise in crude prices compared to last year, to record levels that are the highest in 14 years, is due to the consequences of the Russian war on Ukraine on the global energy market.

In 2020, Iraq achieved revenues from selling crude oil amounting to $42 billion, according to official figures.

As for 2021, it recorded revenues of $ 75 billion.

In 2019, revenue reached $78.5 billion.

The Iraqi government relies heavily on the price of a barrel of oil and oil revenues in its budget, in a country facing economic difficulties and in need of numerous infrastructure projects after years of war.

Despite its oil wealth, Iraq - with a population of 42 million - faces a daily energy crisis, and imports about a third of its gas and electricity needs from Iran, which sometimes cuts off supplies, exacerbating the power outages.

Iraq is the second largest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, with a daily average of 4.6 million barrels, and it has a plan to raise production to 6 million barrels per day by 2027.