Iraq, the IMF and the Oil Dilemma

The International Monetary Fund announced in July that it has approved a three-year, $5.34 billion loan for Iraq under the Stand-By Arrangement facility, which it said was focused on “implementing economic and financial policies to help the country cope with lower oil prices and ensure debt sustainability.” The promised financial assistance was made conditional on—among other things—Baghdad settling all debts to international oil companies (IOCs) without adding new debts. To satisfy that…

Crude Oil Exports Data

Crude Exports 2013– December Update Crude Exports 2012 Crude Exports 2011 Crude Exports 2010 Crude Exports 2009 Official Selling Price 2014– January Update Official Selling Price 2013 Official Selling Price 2012 Official Selling Price 2011  Official Selling Price 2010 Crude Exports 2010 – Allocations vs Nominations Somo Lifters Products Imports 2010 Somo Presentation May 2011 (Arabic)

Iraq Energy Outlook

A capacity of 6 million b/d though achievable but is not the answer to the state requirements of revenue, while 12 million b/d can’t be maintained for a long time and requires higher investment within a short number of years and involves a high risk if the markets cannot absorb it. Committing huge investments to end up with an idle capacity is not an ideal scenario for Iraq. In my…