Iraq is pumping oil at record pace despite chaos
Published 10:23 AM EDT Jun 07, 2016
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Iraq is pumping more oil than ever before, even as ISIS-fueled chaos grips parts of the Middle Eastern country.
Iraq, which relies on oil to fund nearly its entire government, increased daily oil production to an all-time high of 4.5 million barrels in May, according to estimates from research firm JBC Energy.
That's up by 100,000 barrels a day from April and helps fill the void left by big outages in Nigeria and Canada. It's also about 2 million barrels a day more than what Iraq was pumping before the 2003 U.S. invasion.
"Iraq has been quite successful at ramping up production, despite all of the political and security issues going on," said Julius Walker, senior consultant at JBC Energy.
Much of that oil is flowing into the U.S. Iraqi oil imports to the U.S. have tripled since January and now stand at the highest level since July 2014, according to ClipperData.
The milestones comes even as tales of horror emerge from Falluja, the ISIS stronghold located in the center of Iraq away from key oil facilities. The United Nations estimates as many as 50,000 residents are caught in the crossfire in Falluja as the U.S.-backed Iraqi military attempts to oust the terror group. Reports indicate children in Falluja have been killed by bombs, people are forced to eat garbage to stay alive and ISIS is shooting civilians who try to flee.
In recent weeks, the political crisis and security situation in Iraq has worsened.
"With the potential for political temperatures to rise this summer, the government has already reinforced security around southern oil facilities," Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a recent report.
Of course, the Iraqi military's advance on Falluja wouldn't be possible without oil revenue, which according to the IMF made up 94% of Iraq's 2014 federal revenue. These days, oil makes up 99% of Iraq's exports and about 90% of all federal revenue, according to the Brookings Institute.
"Every barrel helps. There isn't a whole lot going on in Iraq other than oil. They are highly dependent," said Mike Wittner, global head of oil research at Societe Generale.
It's sort of a Catch-22 situation for Iraq. Not only does the country need to sell a ton of oil to pay for its defense budget, but it needs robust security to protect its golden goose: oil revenue.
"Oil is financing everything, including their security forces. One depends on the other," Wittner said.
Like Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, Iraq's finances have been hurt by the steep decline in oil prices over the past two years.
Iraq's oil apparatus has held up reasonably well lately after suffering from sabotage last year. Analysts said there are no current reports of major production outages caused by security issues. That's because much of Iraq's oil facilities are clustered in the southern part of the country away from much of the fighting.
However, Iraq's oil production has been hurt by other issues. The biggest is an ongoing payments dispute between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government over how to split up oil revenue. Societe Generale estimates that is hurting Iraq's oil production by about 100,000 to 150,000 barrels per day.
Iraq's oil output is also subject to the whims of the shaky power grid and rolling blackouts that still impact daily life there.
"It's striking that 13 years after the 2003 invasion Iraq still faces severe power cuts for large parts of the day. That's still not resolved even though it's one of the basic things the government should want to do to keep the population happy," said Wittner.
The power headaches highlight the long-term challenge facing Baghdad. The country needs to attract investment from foreign oil companies to maintain aging oil fields and search for new ones. Yet the humanitarian crisis in Falluja and more basic problems like rolling blackouts make that difficult.
"Iraq continues to face headwinds in terms of stability. If there was greater stability and more investment into the country they could increase production volumes," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Today at 9:01 am by Proven
» utube MM&C 4/26/24 Iraqi Dinar - US Treasury Exchange Rates- Focus - Banking Partnerships - Rate C
Today at 7:46 am by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/28/24 Iraq Dinar - IQD - Banks - Merge Regionally - Water - Labor -Jobs - Dinar Value
Today at 7:45 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The water situation in Iraq is not in the best condition.. Aboul Gheit extends an invitat
Today at 7:34 am by Rocky
» The Sudanese advisor explains... Has the 2024 budget entered into force?
Today at 7:23 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi Central Bank announces the strengthening of banks’ external accounts by $260 million
Today at 7:21 am by Rocky
» Economist: The path of development is the first gateway to sustainable economic advancement in Iraq
Today at 7:20 am by Rocky
» The green economy and diversity... major projects and challenges that will reap their fruits later -
Today at 7:16 am by Rocky
» Behind the scenes of the state administration meeting: The regional government supports Sudanese wit
Today at 7:14 am by Rocky
» The Real Estate Registry begins activating the electronic restrictions management system program
Today at 7:11 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani confirms from Riyadh the possibility of cooperation with the German technology company (SA
Today at 7:08 am by Rocky
» On top of which is the path of development.. Al-Awadi announces the most prominent files that the Pr
Today at 6:54 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic receives the President of the International Labor Organization
Today at 6:49 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: This week will witness funding the salaries of employees in the Kurdistan Reg
Today at 6:48 am by Rocky
» On an experimental basis... Justice announces the start of activating the electronic barriers manage
Today at 6:46 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Hour: The economic provisions in the strategic framework agreement need to be activated
Today at 6:44 am by Rocky
» Before self-sufficiency... 80 percent of citizens' need for gasoline will be met soon
Today at 6:41 am by Rocky
» A deputy reveals the features of the "five-year plan" to revive Iraqi agriculture
Today at 6:39 am by Rocky
» Deputy: We opened the Council of Ministers to decide the salary scale
Today at 6:38 am by Rocky
» Iraq doubles its investments in modern irrigation engineering by no less than 20%
Today at 6:36 am by Rocky
» Confirming to Shafaq News... The Sudanese arrives in Saudi Arabia to participate in the World Econom
Today at 6:31 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani announces that clues have been found leading to those involved in the Kormor bombing
Today at 6:29 am by Rocky
» Special: Deconstructing the mystery of the repeated targeting of the Kormor field
Today at 6:28 am by Rocky
» Increase in foreign remittance sales at the Central Bank of Iraq
Today at 6:27 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki: The salaries of the region’s employees are continuing, and there will be solutions to del
Today at 6:26 am by Rocky
» Minister of Resources: Iraq is one of the countries most affected by climate change
Today at 5:29 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani arrives in Riyadh to participate in the World Economic Forum
Today at 5:27 am by Rocky
» An Arab call to the countries neighboring Iraq regarding the share of water
Today at 5:26 am by Rocky
» IMF: Poor productivity is responsible for 50% of the decline in economic growth
Today at 5:20 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic stresses to Barzani the importance of focusing on construction, recons
Today at 5:19 am by Rocky
» Will Iran lose the Iraqi market? 20 million dollars is threatened with loss
Today at 5:18 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Economy: Parliament will extend the legislative term to approve the budget
Today at 5:13 am by Rocky
» The price of the dollar is close to 145 thousand dinars؛ how much is $100 worth of transactions؟
Today at 5:13 am by wciappetta
» A factory for producing electric cars
Today at 5:12 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister: We have launched strategies to improve the conditions of workers
Today at 5:10 am by Rocky
» Economic prospects from America to Türkiye
Today at 5:09 am by Rocky
» Al-Rayes: The path of development is the first gateway to sustainable economic advancement
Today at 5:08 am by Rocky
» Days after announcing the connection with Jordan, an almost complete absence of electricity in Ramad
Today at 5:06 am by Rocky
» A Kurdistan delegation meets with the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad to discuss “revenues and implem
Today at 5:05 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Economy reviews files and the importance of Sudanese’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia
Today at 4:59 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki talks about postponing the Kurdistan Parliament elections and says that salary transfers w
Today at 4:54 am by Rocky
» The President of the Republic and Barzani discuss the results of Sudanese’s visit to the United Stat
Today at 4:53 am by Rocky
» The Ministry of Finance is "dizzy"... An expert points out a "lapse" in the budget schedules: Februa
Today at 4:49 am by Rocky
» Sudanese Advisor: The 2024 budget has entered into force... and there is no need to send its schedul
Today at 4:43 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi dinar is recovering against the US dollar in local markets
Today at 4:42 am by Rocky
» Iraq.. The claim that OPEC’s decisions affect oil derivatives only and not crude is “inaccurate”
Today at 4:39 am by Rocky
» Al-Bawi: Erdogan failed in his promises to his people and seeks to plunge Iraq into its conflict wit
Today at 4:37 am by Rocky
» The Sudanese and his battle against corruption.. Where is the fault with the government or with the
Today at 4:36 am by Rocky
» Amnesty International criticizes Iraq's implementation of 13 death sentences
Today at 4:34 am by Rocky
» The ambassador is very angry with Parliament: The homosexuality law obstructs the government and har
Today at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi: There is no place for homosexuality in the Iraq of the prophets and saints, and that i
Today at 4:32 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani receives the President of the University: Towards the strength and status of the Arab syst
Today at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Ayed Al-Hilali: All leaders are discussing “the finer details of Sudanese” tonight, and Barzani join
Today at 4:30 am by Rocky
» He announced the reception of offers from three alliances from international companies for the Baghd
Today at 4:28 am by Rocky
» During his meeting with the head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate... Al-Amiri stresses the importa
Today at 4:26 am by Rocky
» During the launch of the Arab Labor Conference in its 50th session in Baghdad... Al-Sudani: We launc
Today at 4:24 am by Rocky
» Saudi Arabia announces an increase in direct flights with Iraq
Today at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Resources: Government measures have contributed to improving the water situation in Iraq
Today at 4:22 am by Rocky
» Al-Sadr: The voice of American universities calling for an end to Zionist terrorism is our voice
Today at 4:21 am by Rocky
» International organization: 50% of displaced Iraqis lack official documents
Today at 4:20 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The path of development will provide many job opportunities
Today at 4:19 am by Rocky
» Parliament Finance: The necessity of converting tax and customs revenues to digital processing
Today at 4:18 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani announces that clues have been found to uncover those involved in the Kormor bombing
Today at 4:16 am by Rocky
» The start of the work of the Fourth Baghdad International Water Conference
Today at 4:09 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers will suspend official working hours next Wednesday
Today at 4:07 am by Rocky
» An almost complete outage of water and electricity in western Anbar
Today at 4:06 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary expectations of extending the legislative term to approve the budget
Today at 4:00 am by Rocky
» Education: The cost of participating in the electronic school will amount to 200 thousand dinars
Today at 3:59 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani arrives in Riyadh to participate in the World Economic Forum
Today at 3:58 am by Rocky
» A newspaper reveals a dark world that brings together bloggers and politicians
Today at 3:57 am by Rocky
» Al-Marsoumi: The bombing of the Kormor field undermined efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in gas
Today at 3:55 am by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/24/24 Support - USA- Turkey - Timing- Currency Value - Tabled
Yesterday at 2:18 pm by Rocky
» Parliamentary efforts to transform Iraq into a global market for transferring Internet capacities
Yesterday at 2:07 pm by Rocky
» A parliamentary committee that enriches the political forces: Stop plundering Iraq’s wealth and work
Yesterday at 1:56 pm by Rocky
» Politician: Salem Al-Issawi is the most likely to assume the presidency of Parliament
Yesterday at 1:55 pm by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The world today is witnessing crises whose impact has been reflected in the global econo
Yesterday at 9:50 am by Rocky
» The Federal Court responds to an inquiry by Al-Sudani regarding the powers of the provincial council
Yesterday at 9:40 am by Rocky
» Among them are the Iraqis... a list of the most sought-after immigrants to America
Yesterday at 9:38 am by Rocky
» An expert talks about the "biggest barrier" and the positives of merging Iraqi and Arab banks
Yesterday at 9:29 am by Rocky
» The House of Representatives adjourns its session
Yesterday at 9:24 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary demands to expedite the legislation of the Eid al-Ghadir holiday law (documents)
Yesterday at 9:23 am by Rocky
» Parliament adds the paragraph “Electing the Speaker of the House of Representatives” to its agenda
Yesterday at 9:21 am by Rocky
» Alsumaria publishes the text of the law against prostitution and homosexuality
Yesterday at 9:20 am by Rocky
» A parliamentarian reveals the reason for the failure of the Speaker of Parliament to pass during tod
Yesterday at 9:19 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The government has launched many strategies and initiatives that will improve the reality
Yesterday at 8:42 am by Rocky
» International Business: Iraq has made progress in supporting businesses through investment and priva
Yesterday at 8:33 am by Rocky
» Association of Banks: Iraq is witnessing great development in the transition to electronic governmen
Yesterday at 8:25 am by Rocky
» The House of Representatives votes to add an item to its agenda (election of the Speaker of the Hous
Yesterday at 8:22 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary integrity: Combating corruption requires parliamentary legislation
Yesterday at 8:15 am by Rocky
» Al-Karaawi: America is trying to restrict Iraq
Yesterday at 8:13 am by Rocky
» The State of Law coalition moves to form the local government in Diyala
Yesterday at 8:12 am by Rocky
» The Sudanese and his battle against corruption.. Where is the fault with the government or with the
Yesterday at 8:11 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister's Advisor: We will see the dollar fall on the black market soon
Yesterday at 8:09 am by Rocky
» The Sunni blocs are resolute. The presidency of the Council is ours, away from Al-Halbousi
Yesterday at 8:08 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani discusses with a workers’ organization his government’s steps in this field
Yesterday at 7:58 am by Rocky
» Parliament holds its session in the presence of 170 deputies
Yesterday at 7:57 am by Rocky
» In the presence of Nechirvan Barzani and Al-Sudani... the State Administration Coalition holds an “i
Yesterday at 7:55 am by Rocky
» The UAE company ADNOC resorts to Iraqi oil. Find out the reasons
Yesterday at 7:53 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi Parliament votes to add an item to elect a president to its agenda
Yesterday at 7:52 am by Rocky