Tag Archives | Oil Prices In Iraq

Iraq Business News brings you information on oil prices in Iraq, with the latest developments and opportunities.

Midyear Review of Budget and Oil Revenues

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Midyear Review of the State Budget and Oil Export Revenues The State budget for 2015 was based on an oil export volume of 3.3 million barrels per day (mbd) and a price of $56 a barrel. Accordingly, oil export revenues were estimated to finance 83% of budget revenues. Despite marked improvement […]

Iraq Oil Exports hit New Record

June oil exports from Iraq hit a record average of 3.187 million bpd, up from 3.145 million bpd in May. An average of 3.02 million bpd was exported from the Southern terminals (up from 2.69 million bpd in May), with exports via Ceyhan averaging just 164,700 bpd (down from 451,000 bpd in May). Southern exports were helped by the splitting of output […]

Iraq hikes Price of Basra Heavy

By John Lee. Iraq has reportedly surprised traders in Asia with a sharp increase in the price of its new Basrah Heavy crude grade. Despite the grade selling at a sharp discount in the spot market last month, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) raised the Official Selling Price (OSP) for Basrah Heavy by 85 […]

Oil Revenues hit $5bn in May

By John Lee. Iraq exported an estimated 97 million barrels of oil in May through the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), giving a daily rate of 3.13 million bpd. Early statistics indicate that this brought in revenues of $5 billion (6 trillion Iraqi dinars), equating to about $51.5 per barrel. (Sources: AIN)

Basra Heavy Trading at Discount

By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, the new Basra Heavy crude oil grade has been trading at a widening discount. Malaysia's Petronas reportedly sold 2 million barrels for June loading to Indian refiner Essar Oil at a discount of more than $1 a barrel to its official selling price. bigger than expected […]

Basra Light Premium hits Multi-Year High

By John Lee. Reuters reports that spot premiums for Basra Light crude hit a multi-year high on Thursday, after Iraq cut supply of the grade to export more of its new Basra Heavy oil in June. Traders told the news agency that the premium for June-loading Basra Light surged to more than $1 a barrel […]

Oil Insiders Sceptical on Increased Prodn

By John Lee. A report from Reuters suggests that Iraq's oil output in 2015 is likely to remain flat as Baghdad struggles to cope with low oil prices. Oil executives and market experts say that increasing production next year will be even more challenging if prices remain low, and if Baghdad fails to repay oil […]

Genel's Hayward may Step Down

By John Lee. Genel Energy's chief executive has said he may step down as CEO as early as the end of this year to become Chairman. Reuters reports that Tony Hayward (pictured) also told the FT Commodities Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Wednesday that low oil prices will trigger consolidation in the oil industry in […]

New Prices for Iraqi Oil, but Basra Heavy 'Delayed'

By John Lee. Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra and Kirkuk crude oil for May. It has also issued separate prices for its new Basra Heavy grade, giving a significant discount to the more desireable Basra Light, but Reuters cites industry sources as saying that shipments […]

Proposed Changes to Service Contracts

By Patrick Schmidt. Once the price of oil rises again, the Iraqi government hopes to fix some of the financial issues attached to the lower oil prices. The Ministry of Oil hopes to create incentives for international oilfield operators to produce more oil even when prices are high. Other discussions include ways to cut costs […]

Iraq Narrows Oil Discount to Asia

By John Lee. Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has narrowed the discount for April crude deliveries to Asian buyers by the most since November 2011, according to Bloomberg. Asian shipmentas are priced relative to the Dubai-Oman crude benchmark, published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill. Basrah Light to Asia will sell at a […]

Blessings in Disguise for Iraqi Stock Market

By John Lee. The continuing war against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL), coupled with the decline in oil prices, have reportedly made Iraqi regulators and government more receptive to reforms that would strengthen the economy and the stock market, according to an article in UAE-based The National. Shwan Taha, head of Rabee Securities, has […]