As you probably already know, Iraq is the country with the third largest oil reserve in the world, following Arab Saudi and Iran.
Iraq has eleven oil fields with a total reserve of 115 billion barrels of oil. The production capacity of these fields is of 2.5 million barrels a day. However, for several reasons, such as sabotage acts negatively impacting production in the northern part of the country and technical difficulties in some areas, actual production is only 2 million barrels on a bad day.
Oil production is heavily concentrated in two provinces, Basra and Kirkuk. Other oil fields are located in Mesan, Salaheddin, Mosul, Baghdad and Diala. An exciting fact about the Iraqi oil reserves is that there are also some discovered but undeveloped fields spread across the countries in most provinces, except for Anbar, Babel, Diwaniya and Dahouk. These fields could ensure the future of the oil industry for short to medium term. With the addition of these fields, capacity could reach 5.5 to 6 barrels a day.
Up until recently, Iraq’s oil fields used to be managed centrally by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. However, with the new Constitution, these fields are now under the management of Iraq’s Federal Government. Under previous legislation, 14 state owned companies were responsible for oil drilling, oil exploration and oil production. The Ministry of Oil’s current strategy is to bring foreign investors to the country’s oil exploration and drilling activities in order to increase production beyond 2.5 million barrels a day.
In August 2008, Iraq signed the first major post-war deal with an international investor – China National Petroleum Corporation. This was actually a revised prewar agreement for CNPC to work on the development of the Ahdab field. The project had been interrupted in 2003 when the war in Iraq started. The Chinese oil company started work in March and continued the project despite security problems and farmers protests for damages to their property. (article continued in next weeks DrDinar blog post)
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Article may be reprinted online and offline as long
as this box remains and hyperlinked online. Written
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Kuwait may write off billions in loans to Iraq
James Calderwood, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: January 19. 2010 10:20AM GMT
KUWAIT CITY/ Kuwait will forgive billions of dollars of Iraqi debt in exchange for guaranteed security and good relations with its northern neighbour, the minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Salem al Sabah, said this week.
“We do not want money, and we did not ask you for that. All that we need is security and peace,” Sheikh Mohammed said in an interview with the local newspaper Al Qabas on Sunday.
Iraq owes Kuwait US$16 billion (Dh58.8bn) from loans that were mostly made during the 1980s when Saddam Hussein’s regime was fighting a war with Iran. The Iraqi government owes an additional $25bn in war reparations to Kuwait as a result of the 1990 invasion.
Sheikh Mohammed said he was referring only to the money owed to Kuwait through loans, and not compensation, which he said has its own “international mechanism”.
The UN Compensation Commission oversees payments to individuals, companies, non-governmental organisations and governments that suffered in the invasion. Five per cent of the country’s oil sales are used as compensation, and Iraq must resolve the reparations issue before it can be relieved of the UN’s remaining sanctions.
During the interview, the minister also expressed concern that tribal and sectarian divisions in Iraq and problems with al Qa’eda terrorists could spill over the border to threaten stability in Kuwait.
Yousef Ali, the director of Kuwait University’s Centre for Strategic and Future Studies, said because Kuwait is a small state abundant with oil fields, it has often been coveted by the larger and more powerful countries in the region, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. He said it had paid off its neighbours to avoid confrontation in the past, and Iraq benefited from this policy in the 1960s.
Mr Ali said he believed the threat from Iraq had increased in recent years because of instability there. The Kuwaiti government would be willing to forgive both the debts and reparations if it could overcome opposition from some members of parliament, he said.
“It depends if the government can convince the religious extremists – like the Salafis – to accept it. Some of their MPs will resist the idea,” Mr Ali said. He said the change of Iraqi leadership from Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime to a democracy where Shiites are the largest bloc had put many radical Kuwaiti Sunnis off the idea of giving the country a break.
“This is their attitude. In any country if there are some Shiites in government, those fundamentalists try to put pressure on them. Take Lebanon, take Bahrain and now take Yemen,” he said.
Mr Ali said Kuwait, Iraq and the UN all agreed to the demarcation of the border between the two countries after the Iraq war, but some Iraqi nationalists still do not accept the deal. Some Iraqi MPs have questioned the validity of the border, and others have demanded that Kuwait pay Iraq compensation for giving the US-led coalition a base from which to stage the 2003 invasion, which they said was illegal under international law.
Sheikh Mohammed gave a warning to belligerent Iraqi MPs during the interview when he said: “The positions of some Iraqi officials towards Kuwait do not encourage writing off debts.”
Relationships between the two countries are not always acrimonious. A visit from the governor of Basra to Kuwait on Sunday highlighted the hopes many businessmen in the two countries have for increased economic cooperation.
“Iraq is keen on extending bridges of amity and friendship with the state of Kuwait,” the Iraqi governor, Shaltagh al Mayah, told journalists at a press conference with the governor of Ahmadi, Sheikh Ibrahim al Duaij al Sabah.
The Iraqi governor said his visit was to promote brotherly ties and joint interests between the northern Gulf neighbours and urged Kuwaiti companies to invest in Basra because it was witnessing a period of increased security and stability.
The Kuwaiti MP who heads the Kuwait Economic Society, Rola Dashti, has hinted that investing Iraqi payments back into the country would be a suitable compromise to the reparations issue that would benefit both countries. Sheikh Mohammed said the UK, Turkey and Kuwait were now working together to establish a free trade zone in Basra.
Another member of the Iraqi delegation from Basra, Nezar al Jebari, announced yesterday that authorities have selected a plot of land in the Basra governorate to build a hospital that will be funded by the Kuwaiti government.
jcalderwood@thenational.ae
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100119/FOREIGN/701189918/1011/NEWS
VP meets Obama, Biden at White House
January 15, 2010 – 07:08:37
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi discussed bilateral relations with U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, according to a presidential release.
“Vice President Abdulmahdi also took up developments in Iraq and the region as President Obama expressed a special interest in furthering Iraqi-U.S. relations, the success of the forthcoming legislative elections in the country and the formation of a new government as soon as possible,” read the release as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“The U.S. president also expressed full support for Iraq’s political process, commitment to withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in accordance with the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) signed between the two countries and help to bring Iraqi out of the UN Charter’s Chapter VII,” it added.
AmR (P)
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=125281
Iran, Iraq: Delegations Call For Resolution
January 18, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
As Iran and Iraq wrapped up a meeting Jan. 18 in the Iranian border town
of Qasr-e Shirin, Tehran’s Brig. Gen. Hossein Zolfaqari called for
close cooperation between the two countries, Reuters reported, citing
Iranian media. He expressed hope for resolution of lingering issues
through border agreements dating back to 1975. The head of Iraq’s
delegation, Brig. Gen. Mohsen Abdolhossein, said border issues must be
resolved quickly.
TIKRIT, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq is to relaunch its air force which was decimated in the 1991 Gulf War and to train pilots for a squadron of 18-24 fighter planes, Defence Minister Abdel Qadr Obeidi announced on Wednesday.
Obeidi said at the reopening of the air force academy in Tikrit, in northern Iraq, that the facility would produce a new generation of pilots, navigators and ground crew.
“We are turning a new page in the history of the Iraqi air force,” the minister said as he attended the arrival of four US-built T-6A trainer aircraft piloted by Iraqi instructors.
Under a 210-million-dollar joint venture between the two countries, Iraq is due to receive another four T-6As at the end of January, followed by seven more in December.
The United States is also to provide flight simulators and training, which is to begin for Iraqi instructors in January before they take on their first students at the end of next year.
The Americans are to erect a 36-metre (120-foot) control tower by mid-2010 and a training centre in Kirkuk will be moved to Tikrit, which is to have 60 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
Obeidi said the country would have a squadron of between 18 and 24 fighter aircraft by the end of 2011, when the US military is due to have completed its withdrawal, to support the infantry and defend Iraqi airspace.
The Tikrit academy trained hundreds of pilots before the 1991 war over Kuwait. Iraq’s air force, at its peak in 1987, was 40,000-strong with a 950-plane fleet, mostly Soviet-built but also French Mirage aircraft.
The academy, which was founded by the British in 1931, virtually ceased to exist 60 years later when most of the Iraqi air force was destroyed and the US-led allies imposed “no-fly zones” for Iraq’s warplanes.
During the US-led invasion of 2003 which toppled Saddam Hussein, the American army occupied the academy.
“Today marks an important step toward the reconstruction of the Iraqi air force and the restoration of the country’s security,” said US General Michael Barbero at the Tikrit ceremony.
Article Here [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102951494465&s=3304&e=001T7en67Q1-Dr5rQL1FxI96a99qccgo3KubmSOtsWl_r_rwlpEHYwoYE0qknitGHzhctPSjbToRt-l_Dlc4hpf3AiGRna7ODfCR4BSoMc01RYi3QIZUj5rNKwwWlBRYXFB-pb6HltiJx0=]
Kurdish minister pushes for Iraqi oil deal
Kurdish minister pushes for Iraqi oil deal Financial Times – [1/20/2010]
Shares in DNO, the Norwegian oil company, rose more than 16 per cent on Monday after authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said they were ready to resolve a dispute with Iraq’s central government over distribution of oil revenues and payment of foreign operators.
But the statement appeared to be a political overture, not a binding plan capable of breaking the deadlock that has prevented full-scale exploitation of Iraqi Kurdistan’s estimated 40bn barrels of oil.
Ashti Hawrami, oil minister for the autonomous Kurdistan regional government (KRG) of Iraq, said in the statement that the KRG was prepared to resume international oil exports after holding a “serious dialogue” with Baghdad over how to pay operators such as DNO and Turkey’s Genel Energy.
Mr Hawrami proposed paying DNO a minimum amount that would cover DNO’s cost of oil exports. The payments would come from Baghdad-controlled oil revenues. That step, he suggested, “would create a suitable and positive atmosphere” in which to restart oil exportation. Then all sides, he said, could resolve the thornier issues of operators’ profits and out of which government’s budget payments are paid.
Winning access to Iraq in 2003, DNO was able to start exporting oil from its Tawke field in June 2009. Those exports were orchestrated by the Kurdish government. They were intended to mark the end of tensions with the central government, which continued to call the KRG’s oil licences illegal. But Baghdad retained all revenues from those exports and did not remit payments to the companies. The KRG did not pay operators out of its budget. In October DNO said it would halt oil exports until a payment mechanism was set up.
DNO declined to comment on the statement, including whether or not they endorsed a break-even payment plan.
“The KRG is ready to start a serious dialogue regarding this matter, and we are also ready to immediately restart the process of oil exporting from Kurdistan Region’s fields,” Mr Hawrami said, adding that two committees should be established to ensure fair payment to the operators.
Mr Hawrami appealed to Baghdad to consider the revenues it could gain by co-operating in a new plan. Those revenues could rise from $2.75bn in 2010 to $25.62bn in 2014. Over those four years only $6bn of the $67bn in Baghdad-controlled revenues would need to be allocated to Kurdistan-based operators as compensation, he said.
Exports could initially be 100,000 barrels per day, rising to 200,000 later this year and 1m barrels in five years, he added.
The Kurdish statement was in response to remarks by Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, who said earlier this month that it was time to settle the dispute “with flexibility and realism” in order “to preserve the rights and interests in these contracts”.
Trond Omdal, analyst at Arctic Securities in Oslo, said the statement indicated momentum was building towards a deal. But he cautioned that much would remain uncertain until after Iraq held parliamentary elections in March.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=11344
Parliament passes critical issues to successors
January 19, 2010 – 01:27:58
BAGHDAD
/ Aswat al-Iraq: The current Iraqi parliament has decided to postpone
debates over critical issues, such as oil and gas law and Kirkuk, to the
incoming parliament that will be elected on March 7, 2010.
“The bills of 2010 budget and electoral behavior are still being
debated in the parliament,” Lawmaker Jamal al-Bateekh told Aswat
al-Iraq news agency on Tuesday.
He said that political parties in power oppose the electoral behavior act.
“They want to use power, media, and public funds unconditionally for electoral purposes,”
al-Bateekh said.
MH (P) / SS
Article Here [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102956192661&s=3304&e=001q9onWfeXvdBpJZkxXyS5sOqfTLgvsemJ2uL819oQrJeTm2a1tXX0F-tzKwKnMVBVTge2WE8TNZ2ZL9Yh0-ZSozDbr2SYKBG9ArUpu6DvdzNB9oj8tP7dWeg3fCaTnaTGSsrfHQta_yU=]
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U.S.: VP Arrives In Iraq
January 22, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 22 arrived in Baghdad, where he is scheduled to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Speaker of the Council of Representatives Ayad al-Samarrai and other officials, a White House statement said.
Iraq seen as key area for GCC investment in 2010
by Ed Attwood
Thursday, 21 January 2010
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY: Iraq’s capital Baghdad. (Getty Images)
2010 represents a strong opportunity for GCC companies to export their knowledge and experience to Iraq, according to a global business consultancy.
Control Risks believes that improvements in the security environment and the political situation in Baghdad mean that a number of industries – not just the energy sector – are being welcomed into the northern Gulf country.
“The second oilfield bidding round showed that both the Iraqi government and foreign companies had undergone the learning process,” said Jonathan Wood, global issues analyst at Control Risks. “The Iraqi government has learnt how to attract foreign direct investment [FDI] in a more efficient way, and the overseas firms have learnt to broker more realistic deals and profit margins.” Wood said that oil wasn’t the only area of interest, with companies winning contracts in the power generation, telecoms, financial services, logistics, cement and construction fields.
In the first nine months of 2009, one report claimed that the UAE was the highest foreign investor in Iraq, at $37 billion, representing around a quarter of all global investments during that period. The study, by Dunia Frontier Consultants, said that the only other Gulf country to make a significant investment in Iraq was Kuwait, with $6.8 billion during that period.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/579459-iraq-seen-as-key-area-for-gcc-investment-in-2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq: U.S. Marines Leave Anbar
January 23, 2010
The U.S. Marine Corps wound up almost seven years in Iraq on Jan. 23 and formally handed over control of Sunni-dominated Anbar, the country’s largest province, to the Army, a move that signaled the beginning of an accelerated withdrawal of American troops in that country, the AP reported. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered all but 50,000 troops out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. According to a U.S.-Iraq security pact, those remaining troops will leave by the end of 2011.
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Iraq: US Out, Security In
Violence down in Baghdad. Iraqis
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=29951298001
Iraq to investigate duff bomb detector
Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation into the use of ineffective and dangerous bomb-detection devices Iraq bought from a British company.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/
Funny RAF Regiment Video
January 3, 2010 by
A video showing British troops in Iraq … Iraq War British Soldier RAF Regiment
http://scci-iraq.com/funny-raf-regiment-video/462/
See the Cost of War to your community:
http://costofwar.com/
Iraq seals oil deal with Exxon Mobil, Shell group
Mon Jan 25, 6:30 am ET
BAGHDAD – Iraq has signed a final deal with U.S. and European oil giants Exxon Mobil
Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC to develop a major oil field in the south. Under
the 20-year deal, the consortium will develop the 8.6 billion barrel
West Qurna Stage 1 field for $1.9 for every barrel produced. The deal
could be extended for another five years. The deal was signed Monday in Baghdad.
The
field was among five oil and two gas fields left over from Iraq’s first
postwar bidding round held in June. The consortium initially asked for
$4 per barrel produced, but later accepted Iraq’s lower offer. Last week, Iraq signed
a deal with a consortium led by Italy’s Eni SpA to develop another major oil field
in the south.
Article Here [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102962794083&s=3304&e=001xFlgKMlIwtQfSjs2VmACI23It-2V9oa4w5GRwI6C-rlU9xywor0_Mf5LdFJEHWbCtHtAa4TDym6ZcbKeMWSQkB1JQhDwQit5BXxqrxf2R24H_2ckQJ-3N4sYyqWz5LvqD1UdHGkqL8H5a_YmwNqX6_b66r9MK1a8YkND1xGk-Wc=]
Iraq: Deal Signed WIth Shell, Exxon Mobil to Develop West Qurna Phase 1 Oil Field
January 25, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq
Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said Jan. 25 that the country has
signed a deal with Exxon Mobil and Shell to develop the West Qurna
Phase 1 oil field, AFP reported. Jihad also said Iraq is set to
complete a deal Jan. 30 with a consortium, led by Russian energy
company Lukoil, to develop the West Qurna Phase 2 field.
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001lnBTEkB9iIF8NXH6Efh9gYpo33jOdMp-OxaTRyb_aMZPzHfMy7NCaiHcgSg_P-0DXibuNeBUDW_vmql6r-rVjY7yVgc9OLDe2J-NWYvozi5wiy3JD2ZXEhPXX0pDCsD09vK4jcMejKHT5DH0n3K3pSDWcrcp81m0AesvfuajMKISa57xmyYR5hmh7h2N1lvrKA-zErHtcqvkqC6urxzeVx3UGIqdIdj4
« Chapter 7 talks resume
Iraq 2010 budget approved!
FINALLY some good news for us Dinar Currency speculators! I’m extremely interested to hear what the number crunchers in the crowd are going to have to say about this one, for several reasons. The Iraqi federal budget has been held up by debates for several weeks, primarily for political reasons.
I mentioned months ago that the budget was going to be a big issue, and not for economic reasons… for political reasons. Political reasons such as Prime Minister Maliki’s upcoming electoral opponents wanted to make sure he was not able to use any state resources to fund his March 7 election campaign… the plot thickens, as always!
After what seems like a hundred years of sissy-footing around, the Iraqi parliament passed a 2010 federal budget earlier today (Tuesday January 26 2010) that puts federal spending at $72.4 billion (84.7 trillion Iraqi Dinars). The budget also sets a deficit this year of $19.6 billion (22.9 trillion Iraqi Dinars).
Iraqi government income is estimated at about 62 trillion Iraqi Dinars ($53 billion), 95% of which is from crude oil exports. Here’s where the number crunching comments should start: Iraq’s current and projected crude oil exports.
Also of note, the approved budget allows Iraq to seek a $4.5 billion arrangement with the IMF. This has been discussed before, and several times the IMF loans have fallen by the wayside. A trend I have noticed, however, is that when the IMF loan falls through, sometime in the near future an agreement is reached with one country or another that Iraq owes money to. Some debt is forgiven, investment opportunities are arranged for the country that forgives the debt, and Iraq walks away with a stronger foundation upon which to build a secure and financially successful future.
I’ll be keeping an eye on things, stay tuned!
-Adam Montana
http://dinarspeculation.com/2010/01/26/iraq-2010-budget-approved/
Iraq: Oil Deals Signed With Sonangol
January 26, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq on Jan. 26 signed deals with Angolan state oil company Sonangol to develop the oilfields of Qayara and Najmah, Reuters reported. Qayara, with reserves of some 800 million barrels, and Najmah, with 900 million, are in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, where militants remain active. The contracts are part of deals Iraq has begun signing that could help increase its oil output capacity to 12 million barrels per day in seven years from the current 2.5 million; that would bring it to a level that rivals Saudi Arabia.
Iraq: Parliament Passes 2010 Budget
January 26, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq’s parliament Jan. 26 approved the 2010 budget, setting spending at 84.7 trillion dinars ($72.4 billion) and the deficit at 22.9 trillion dinars ($19.6 billion), Reuters reported, citing lawmakers. The lawmakers said the budget is based on an expected oil price of $62.5 per barrel, with revenues from expected oil exports of 2.15 million barrels per day in 2010.
Iraq: Joint Patrols Begin – U.S. Commander
January 26, 2010
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq’s largely Arab army and Kurdish Peshmerga troops have begun joint patrols, U.S. military commander Gen. Ray Odierno said Jan. 26, reported Reuters. About 70 percent of the joint patrols, supervised by U.S. troops, have been trained and deployed; it is hoped that by the end of January, all of the joint patrols will be ready.
Iraq: Chemical Ali Executed
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
January 25, 2010
Iraq on Jan. 25 executed Ali Hassan al-Majeed for crimes against humanity, the Iraqi government said. Al-Majeed was the Saddam Hussein henchman known as “Chemical Ali.”
S T R A T F O R
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
Iraq: Oil Ministry Signs Deals for Oil Field Development
Stratfor Today » January 22, 2010 | 1449 GMT
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images
CEO of Italy’s Eni, Paolo Scaronis (R), and Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani in Baghdad on Jan. 22
Iraq’s Oil Ministry signed a 20-year service contract Jan. 22 with a consortium comprised of Italy’s Eni, Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. to develop the al-Zubair oilfield in Basra. Under the terms of the deal, the consortium will be paid $2 per barrel for the oil they extract from the field above current production and will pay a 35 percent tax on profits. In place of a signature bonus, the consortium will pay the Oil Ministry $300 million as a refundable five-year loan. Eni plans to invest around $20 billion in this deal over the 20-year period and aims to raise the field’s output from its current 195,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.125 million bpd within the next six years.
Iraq’s Oil Ministry has also signed deals with Royal Dutch/Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas to develop the giant Majnoon oil field, and with Petronas and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. to develop the Garraf oil field in the south. Exxon Mobil and Shell are expected to finalize a contract for the development of West Qurna Phase 1 oil field in the south on Jan. 25 (KK: which they did.) Though Iraq offers a highly uncertain investment environment and slim profit margins for the development of these fields, thus far these energy firms are willing to incur substantial risk in order to stake a foothold in a country with immense energy potential.
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001ERobWwfqaadn9P8Ocf5_93XO160-fU6OfXOB94-KFGyxYanJZN5Q2mzq9rVwo5v3gZl_bvC2Wm9fz5XBytpLw457f_bynJMgN9k7IpdUgnJMbfz45xUIhaxuSZggRR0OA5152OfSJvoHRQGe4LdFU9kEUc5JBuirN24sl1ufCvdU7VpKy_L03G5FK2haBNLpaiF3yIcaQ3sTUcVTRklkoCimKXl-SU7x
UPDATE 2-Iraqi parliament approves $72.4 bln 2010 budget
Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:40am EST
Related News
Iraq suicide bomb kills 17 at police forensics lab
9:22am EST
* Budget sets 27 percent deficit
* Oil exports set at 2.15 million bpd, price at $62.5/barrel
* Contemplates IMF and World Bank financing
(Adds oil price, exports)
BAGHDAD, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The Iraqi parliament on Tuesday passed a 2010 budget that sets federal spending at 84.7 trillion Iraqi dinars (around $72.4 billion) and a deficit for this year of 22.9 trillion dinars ($19.6 billion), lawmakers said.
The budget sets an expected oil price of $62.5 per barrel and puts expected average oil exports, virtually the sole source of government revenue, at 2.15 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, lawmakers said.
“The parliament has approved today the budget of 2010,” said Kurdish member of parliament Sami al-Atrushi, a member of the chamber’s finance committee.
The deficit amounted to 27 percent of total spending and was to be financed with surpluses from previous years and also through domestic and external borrowing, the budget law said.
Alaa al-Sadoun, head of the finance committee, said the new oil projections were an increase from the 2009 budget, which put expected oil exports at 2 million barrels per day and the oil price at $50 a barrel.
In a novel move, the parliament included in the new budget a clause setting aside $1 for each barrel of oil produced for oil-producing provinces to use in investment projects, said Ali Hussain Balou, head of parliament’s oil and gas committee.
Other provinces involved in oil refining and gas production will receive similar set-asides.
The Iraqi government is hoping that a spate of new oil deals will transform its struggling oil sector and increase production that still hovers around pre-invasion levels.
The 2010 budget law also includes authorization for Iraq to seek a $4.5 billion financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund and contemplates $2 billion in financing by the World Bank.
The total income of the Iraqi government was estimated to reach 61.7 trillion dinars ($52.8 billion). The oil producing country relies on crude exports for more than 95 percent of government revenue.
Passage of the budget was held up for weeks by negotiations over additional spending.
Lawmakers said political dealmaking also played a role.
They said rivals of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tried to demand that in return for passing the budget the government had to agree to a law that would prevent Maliki from using any state resources in the campaign for a March 7 election. (Reporting by Waleed Ibrahim; Editing by Michael Christie and Andy Bruce)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE60P1T120100126
It’s time to admit the truth: the war in Iraq is due to oil and government contracts to private companies, not knocking down the Towers and killing so many Americans. The White House knew these terrorists were in the country and did NOTHING! They waste time and money chasing after Mexican illigals who do us no phyiscal harm, and are doing jobs most American lazy pelple will not lower themselves to do! QUIT LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT why we are in Iraq! We have oil resources here in American we could appropriate but for the goody two shoes who are on the side of minows, the gnats, the rats and the worms on the earth and care nothing about the people. Save the Whales, sacrifice the people! This country is being led by IDIOTS who are only interested in lining their pockets. WANT TO BE RICH? BECOME A CONGRESSMAN!
Hello Cigna,
Thats very true, but we are not going to let you rain on our parade.
We are Walk Disney dreamers. We do not need any negative energy
in our little circle. We shall stay very positive no matter what,
and keep our eye on the prize.
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