Iraq sold 78.7mn barrels of crude oil in April 2013, marking a 5.1% m/m increase, the state oil marketing company, Somo, said. But oil proceeds edged down 0.3% m/m to USD 7.764bn amid falling crude oil prices. The average price per barrel of crude retreated to USD 98.7 in April from USD 103.77 the month before, Somo noted.
Exports from the southern Basra oil fields and ports rose to 69.5mn barrels in April from 65.1mn barrels the month before. Sales from the Kirkuk oil fields in northern Iraq, however, declined to 9.2mn barrels from 9.8mn barrels in March.
The 2013 budget bill holds for an 18% y/y increase in spending to USD 118bn. The average oil price was set at USD 90 a barrel, up from USD 85 in 2012, and oil output was forecast at 2.9mn bpd, up 11% from 2.625mn in 2012.
The developing oil sector will continue to underpin Iraq’s medium-term macroeconomic outlook but risks remain high amid weak policy implementation and a worsening domestic situation among others, the IMF said in its latest Article IV statement. Iraq’s GDP growth will likely quicken to 9.0% in 2013 from 8.4% the year before, the IMF forecast. Iraq’s oil production will gradually increase by 400,000-500,000 bpd a year to reach 5.7mn bpd by 2018, the IMF said.
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