Safwan Qusay, an economic specialist, detailed on Sunday the degree to which OPEC’s agreement to restrict oil exports by 211 thousand barrels per day may meet budget obligations.
“The oil fields of Kirkuk and the region are characterized by the fact that their prices are at the same level as the prices of Brent oil,” Qusay told Al-Maalouma, “and Iraq can bear the burden of losing its increased exports from the fields of the south because the price difference tends towards exports from the fields of Kirkuk and the region, so everyone is seeking to restore the export line.” To Ceyhan, Turkey’s harbor.
“Despite Iraq’s compliance with OPEC’s decision to reduce exports by 211,000 barrels per day, the total impact is $3 billion annually,” he added, noting that “raising the price of oil to $74 means that it will cover the approved cuts on Iraqi oil, while prices are rising to more than $80 per barrel.”
He claimed that “Iraq requires the price of a barrel of oil to be at the $74 per barrel threshold in order to cover budget expenses.”
He emphasized that “actual revenues cover the actual need in the budget and even more than it, despite OPEC’s decision to reduce exports.”
