KUWAIT, January 21. /Corr. Vasily Vavilin/. Iraq sells oil at the price twice lower than planned, the budget for 2016. On Thursday said the Finance Minister of this Arab country, Hoshyar Zebari.
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“The income we receive from the sale of oil, very limited,” he said, stressing that the Iraqi cost of a barrel currently ranges from $21 to $25, while in the budget were laid down $45. However, even with the planned price, the Finance Ministry had expected a deficit of 24.1 billion Iraqi dinars ($20 billion).
“This will be a very difficult year for us, stated Zebari. Forecasts show a further drop in prices.” He compared the current financial crisis with terrorizing the country grouping “Islamic state” (IG, is prohibited in Russia).
Earlier Thursday with more optimistic comments made by the oil Minister of Iraq Adel Abdel Mahdi. “Until now, the demand for our products is higher than supply, despite the fact that Iran is back on the market,” he said. The Minister noted that the country’s authorities plan to increase the production level to 400 thousand barrels per day to 4 million
Since mid-2014, about a third of the Iraqi territories under the control of militants IG. The incessant struggle with them leaves a significant proportion of funds as the country is obliged regularly to buy arms. Also the management necessary to recover the liberated regions, which was damaged in the fighting.
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From high to collapse: the dynamics of oil prices since 2000
