Petroleum prices have steadily increased since the summer thanks in part to production quotas implemented by the OPEC+ group. That was good news for Iraq which is the most oil dependent country in the world. The result was that in December Iraq had the highest revenues in 10 months.
In December Iraq’s oil exports increased again as the country continued to flaunt its OPEC limit. The country exported an average of 2.846 million barrels a day up from 2.709 million barrels in November. The increase was due to the Oil Ministry raising production starting in November by around 100,000 barrels a day to help boost profits for the government which depends upon petroleum for over 90% of its money. Production in November was at 3.93 million barrels a day up from 3.82 million in October and 3.68 million in September. It was supposed to produce 3.804 million barrels according to OPEC.
The rise in production came at a good time because petroleum prices were up. In December a barrel of Iraqi crude sold for $47.76 per barrel the highest price since February. That meant it earned $4.213 billion, again the highest figure since February. This was more good news for Iraq. It’s draft 2021 budget is based upon a $42 per barrel price so it might earn more money than estimated. That would help the deficit which is currently at $49 billion the highest ever.
For the year Iraq ended up making an average of $3.493 billion a month in petroleum revenue down from $6.543 billion in 2019. The government needs around $5 billion just for government salaries and pensions each month. That will go up under the 2021 budget that has added more workers and is the largest budget ever. Prices for Iraqi oil averaged $38.80 per barrel down from $61.09 last year.
Federal Oil Exports, Prices, Revenues 2019-2020
|
Month |
Avg Export (Mil) |
Avg Price |
Earnings (Bil) |
|
Jan 2019 |
3.649 |
$56.15 |
$6.367 |
|
Feb |
3.621 |
$60.83 |
$6.179 |
|
Mar |
3.377 |
$63.80 |
$6.709 |
|
Apr |
3.466 |
$67.41 |
$7.021 |
|
May |
3.572 |
$66.68 |
$7.329 |
|
Jun |
3.52 |
$60.58 |
$6.372 |
|
Jul |
3.566 |
$61.15 |
$6.692 |
|
Aug |
3.603 |
$57.41 |
$6.413 |
|
Sep |
3.576 |
$59.14 |
$6.321 |
|
Oct |
3.447 |
$57.15 |
$6.121 |
|
Nov |
3.5 |
$59.82 |
$6.305 |
|
Dec |
3.428 |
$63.05 |
$6.698 |
|
2019 Avgs |
3.527 |
$61.09 |
$6.543 |
|
Jan 2020 |
3.306 |
$60.14 |
$6.163 |
|
Feb |
3.391 |
$51.37 |
$5.053 |
|
Mar |
3.391 |
$32.73 |
$2.962 |
|
Apr |
3.438 |
$13.80 |
$1.51 |
|
May |
3.212 |
$21.00 |
$2.136 |
|
Jun |
2.816 |
$33.86 |
$2.871 |
|
Jul |
2.763 |
$40.70 |
$3.492 |
|
Aug |
2.597 |
$43.69 |
$3.492 |
|
Sep |
2.613 |
$40.40 |
$3.173 |
|
Oct |
2.876 |
$38.48 |
$3.457 |
|
Nov |
2.709 |
$41.77 |
$3.395 |
|
Dec |
2.846 |
$47.76 |
$4.213 |
|
2020 Avgs |
2.996 |
$38.80 |
$3.493 |
SOURCES
AIN, “Oil announces its exports and revenues for the past month,” 1/1/21
Arraf, Jane, “Iraq, Struggling to Pay Debts and Salaries, Plunges Into Economic Crisis,” New York Times, 1/4/21
Iraq Oil Report, “Facing financial crunch, Iraq boosts November production,” 12/22/20
Al Mirbad, “Oil Ministry announces preliminary statistics of exported quantities and revenues last December,” 1/1/21
Sirwan, Dilan, “Iraq faces 71 trillion dinar budget deficit in 2021: parliamentary finance committee member,” Rudaw, 12/31/20
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