Iraq: Iraq's Oil Exports Dip by 14 Percent in January

Feb 12, 2015 | Sinan Salaheddin, Associated Press
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Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Thursday that crude exports averaged 2.535 million barrels a day in January, a decrease of nearly 14 percent from the previous month, depriving the nation of badly needed cash both for ongoing military operations against extremists and reconstruction efforts.

Last month's revenues stood at $3.258 billion, based on an average price of $41.45 per barrel, said the ministry's spokesman, Assem Jihad. December's exports averaged 2.941 million barrels a day, bringing that month's revenues to $5.161 billion.

Jihad blamed the bad weather that struck the area of the country's southern facilities on the Persian Gulf for more than two weeks for the exports' dip.

Iraq's 2015 budget is based on an expected oil price of $56 per barrel, with a daily export capacity of 3.3 million. The nearly 119.6 trillion Iraqi dinars budget (about $102.5 billion) runs with a deficit of 25 trillion dinars (about $21.4 billion).