Wednesday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-17-22
Wednesday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-17-22
International Oil Expert: "Corruption" Prevents Iraq From Benefiting From Huge Reserves And Resources
Shafaq News/ A senior international economic expert monitored, on Wednesday, a number of reasons, including "corruption", that prevent Iraq from benefiting from huge resources and huge oil reserves, noting that these capabilities "if exploited" would make it go a long way in mitigating international economic damage.
Iraq has an estimated 145 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, and the country plans to increase crude oil production to 8 million barrels per day, up from about 4 million barrels at present.
Increased Iraqi production could add a significant amount of oil to a market hungry for this product, but a report written by Simon Watkins, a former major forex trader and economic journalist and author, for Oil Price said there were a number of factors, including corruption issues, and weak civil society. Insecurity and lack of resources prevented Iraq from implementing its oil exploration and production strategies.
And the report quoted Hamid Younis, the first vice president of the Iraqi National Oil Company, as saying last week that the country plans to increase crude oil production to 8 million barrels per day.
He also quoted the Director General of the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company, Ali Jassim, as saying that the next phase will witness "notable activity" in the exploration sector, including operations in the Western Desert and Nineveh Governorate.
Given the current delicate balance between supply and demand in the global oil pricing matrix, a large new supply would go some way to mitigating the economic damage to many countries by enduring higher oil and gas prices, if the ambitions are "realistic", according to Watkins. .
Iraq owns about 18 percent of the total reserves of the Middle East, and about 9 percent of the world's reserves, and is the fifth largest in the world. However, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its 2012 report on the country, the extent of Iraq's viable oil resources For eventual extraction is subject to a great degree of "uncertainty".
The writer says that the reserves may be much larger, as the 2012 International Energy Agency analysis put the level of ultimately recoverable crude oil liquids and natural gas resources in Iraq at about 232 billion barrels, but as of the end of 2011, only 35 billion barrels had been produced. Of that number, compared to 23 percent for the Middle East as a whole, according to the International Energy Agency.
However, it is one thing to have huge levels of reserves and recoverable resources, but to dig and export them is quite another.
During the period from the release of the IEA report in 2012 until now, crude oil production in Iraq has risen from just over 3 million barrels per day to just over 4 million barrels per day. y
In absolute terms, Watkins says, this increase ranks as a very poor return for Iraq's crude oil resources, especially when considering how easy it is to extract its oil.
Crude oil in the country has the lowest extraction cost in the world of 1-2 dollars per barrel, equal to the extraction costs of crude oil for Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Also, the current production rates are much lower than the Iraqi national plans and international expectations, which indicated that Iraq would reach 9 million barrels per day by 2020, or at least 6 million barrels per day.
The International Energy Agency expected in 2012 that Iraq's oil production would rise to 9 million barrels per day in 2020 and then rise to 10.5 million barrels per day in 2035.
Why is production delayed?
The writer says that the basis for Iraq to achieve these massive increases in crude oil production is there and quite solid, but the rampant corruption that has plagued the Iraqi oil sector, especially since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, and the failure to build the Common Sea Water Supply Project (CSSP) The reason was that production rates were so late.
The project involves taking sea water from the Gulf and then treating it before transporting it through pipelines to the oil fields to increase pressure and increase oil consumption. Initially, it was supposed to cost about $10 billion so that it could provide about 6 million barrels per day of water to five fields. At least oil in the southern Basra region and one in the Maysan region.
The writer says that the "culture of corruption in Iraq" is responsible, as Iraq usually appears among the 10 worst countries out of 180 countries for the size and scope of corruption.
The author quotes International Transparency Reports stating that "widespread embezzlement, procurement fraud, money laundering, oil smuggling, and widespread bribery have driven the country down international corruption ratings, fueled political violence and impeded effective state building and service delivery."
This may be the main reason why the CSSP project is not going forward, says Watkins, but if Iraq can rid the project as much as possible of the rotten elements, it can begin to achieve the massive increases in crude production it envisions.
Source / Al-Hurra American website LINK
The Volume Of Exports From A Border Crossing Between Iran And Iraq Increased By Up To 300%
Shafaq News/ The Director of the Department of Transport and Communications in the Iranian province of Kermanshah bordering Iraq, Fribers Karimi, announced on Wednesday that the Parviz Khan border crossing with Iraq witnessed, during the past four months, a transit of goods amounting to 591 thousand and 992 tons.
Karimi considered the "Pervezkhan port" as the main artery for economic exchange between Iran and Iraq, through which the largest volume of Iranian non-oil exports to Iraq pass, and it is the only land port with Iraq that worked around the clock and throughout the year without interruption.
He explained that the past four months witnessed the departure of 1,500 trucks loaded with goods from this border crossing towards Iraq, with an increase of 290 percent over the volume of exports in the same period last year.
Karimi said, in a statement to official Iranian media, that there are 5 land border crossings between the Iranian province of Kermanshah and Iraq, and that the length of this province's border with Iraq is 371 kilometers. LINK
Low Gold Prices In Baghdad And Stability In Erbil
Shafaq News/ "Foreign and Iraqi" gold prices decreased in the local markets in the capital, Baghdad, while they stabilized in the markets of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region, today, Wednesday.
Shafak News Agency reporter said that gold prices in the wholesale markets on Al-Nahr Street in the capital, Baghdad, recorded this morning, the selling price of one weight of 21 karat of Gulf, Turkish and European gold amounted to 368 thousand dinars, and the purchase price was 364 thousand, while the selling prices for yesterday were 370 One thousand dinars for one weight.
Our correspondent indicated that the selling price of one 21-carat weight of Iraqi gold also decreased at 328 thousand dinars, and the purchase price reached 324 thousand.
With regard to gold prices in the jewelers’ shops, the price of selling a weight of Gulf 21-carat gold ranges between 370 thousand and 380 thousand dinars, while the selling price ranged from an Iraqi gold weight between 330 thousand and 340 thousand dinars.
In Erbil, gold prices witnessed stability in its markets, as the selling price of a 24 karat gold weight amounted to 425 thousand dinars, a 22 karat gold weight of 390 thousand dinars, a 21 karat gold weight of 380 thousand, and an 18 karat gold weight of 320 thousand.
It is equal to one mithqal of gold (five grams). LINK
The Government Announces The Start Of Building The Largest Bridge In Iraq In This Governorate
Reconstruction and building
Economy News-Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities announced the implementation of the largest bridge in Iraq, while noting the importance of its completion, to facilitate the movement of trade and residents of the regions, especially in times of floods .
The Director General of the Department of Roads and Bridges in the ministry, Hussein Jassem, told the Iraqi News Agency, "The directorate, a month ago, began implementing the largest bridge in Iraq with a length of 3 km in Diyala Governorate," noting that "the bridge passes in Lake Hamrin and replaces the road that was flooded with water." floods during the previous years and caused its complete extinction .”
He added that "a radical solution has been put in place in case the lake levels rise," noting that "a design has been prepared to transform the road into a bridge with a distance of 3 kilometers, with the aim of strengthening it and not being affected when any water level rises at peak times ."
He continued, "The road connects to the Munthiriya port with Iran, and is one of the important roads," explaining that "this road was cut off after the flood wave in 2017 and its aftermath ."
He stressed, "The Imam Wais detour is an alternative to this road, but it consumes more time, as the distance is 75 km more than the Buhaira road," noting that "returning the Buhaira road will limit the distance significantly and facilitate the movement of trade and the movement of residents of areas within this road ." . 11 . views Added 08/17/2022 - 12:30 PM Update 08/17/2022 - 12:48 PM
Minister Of Planning: We Will Continue To Achieve Economic Integration With The Countries Of The Region
Posted On2022-08-17 By Sotaliraq Yesterday, Tuesday, Minister of Planning Khaled Battal Al-Najm affirmed Iraq's quest to achieve more economic integration with the countries of the region, while noting that work is continuing to complete the electrical linkage requirements with the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The Ministry of Planning said in a statement received by Al-Mada that "the Minister of Planning Khaled Battal Al-Najm participated in the investment and pioneering economic brotherhood conference organized by the Jordanian-Iraqi Brotherhood Association in Amman, with the aim of enabling investment and business in the Arab world, with the participation of a number of Jordanian ministers and a wide spectrum of men business from both countries, and the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.”
The statement added, "The Minister of Planning reviewed, in his speech at the conference, the reality of Arab economic growth, and the overall challenges facing achieving economic integration among Arab countries."
In his speech, Al-Najm stressed, “the presence of a number of administrative and technical restrictions related to specifications, shipping and authentication certificates, in addition to the absence of value chains for products, entry visas, different Arab legislation, and other challenges that contributed to the failure to achieve Arab economic integration.”
He called, "the Arab countries to unify their economic policies, and to give the private sector the largest role in achieving comprehensive development."
And he spoke, about "the Iraqi trade balance with Jordan, the Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", referring to "the establishment of the (Iraqi-Saudi) and (Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian) Coordination Council.
The ministerial statement went on to say that "the focus during the work of these two councils was on the axes of energy, agriculture, industry, trade and sustainable investment," stressing that "work continues to complete the requirements of electrical interconnection with the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Jordan." LINK
Oil Price Recovery In World Markets
Economie 10:46 - 08-17 2022 Oil prices rose on Wednesday, rebounding from six-month lows hit the previous day, with larger-than-expected declines in US oil and gasoline inventories and strong demand that remains strong, limiting price hikes the prospect of a global recession.
Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $92.47 a barrel by 0035 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $86.80 a barrel.
US crude stocks fell, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute, by 448,000 barrels in the week ending on August 12, and gasoline stocks fell by 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 759,000 barrels.
Investors also waited for clarification on talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and oil supplies could rise if Iran and the United States accept a European Union proposal to lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The European Union and the United States said on Tuesday they were studying Iran's response to what the European Union called its "final" proposal to save the 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran called on Washington to show flexibility.
Meanwhile, Barclays cut its Brent crude price forecast on Tuesday by $8 a barrel for 2022 and 2023, as it expects a large crude oil surplus in the near term due to "resilient" Russian supplies.
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An Unprecedented Jump In Oil Prices In Half A Year
Economie 2022-08-17 | 03:14 An unprecedented jump in oil prices in half a year Doc-P-429653-637963174442871948
5,050 views Oil prices rose on Wednesday, rebounding from six-month lows hit the previous day, with a larger-than-expected drop in US oil and gasoline inventories and strong demand that remains strong, limiting price advances the prospect of a global recession.
Brent crude futures rose 13 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $92.47 a barrel by 0035 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $86.80 a barrel.
US crude stocks fell, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute[/url], by 448,000 barrels in the week ending August 12, and gasoline stocks fell by 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 759,000 barrels.
Investors also waited for clarification on talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and oil supplies could rise if Iran and the United States accept a European Union proposal to lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
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The European Union and the United States said on Tuesday they were studying Iran's response to what the European Union called its "final" proposal to save the 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran called on Washington to show flexibility.
In the meantime, lowerBarclaysHis forecast for the price of Brent crude on Tuesday by $8 a barrel for 2022 and 2023, as he expects a large surplus of crude oil in the near term due to "resilient" Russian supplies. LINK