Iraq’s oil accounted for 95.5% of total exports in 2014

The Iraqi Ministry of Planning said on Sunday that the country’s oil exports in 2014 amounted to 89.5 trillion dinars ($84.5 billion), or 95.5 per cent of the country’s total revenue from exports. According to statistics released by the ministry’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the reason behind the decrease in crude oil revenues is the decline in the price from $102.26 per barrel in 2013 to $91.63 per barrel last year.

The bureau statement pointed out that the oil exported in 2014 amounted to 918 million barrels compared to 872 million barrels in 2013, an increase of 5.3 per cent. Crude oil is almost the only source of income for Iraq.

Observers believe that the decline in oil prices will put the Iraqi government in fiscal trouble, because of the growing need for financial liquidity in order to pay for its military campaigns against ISIS, which took control of large areas in the north and west of the country last year. Iraq has achieved a steady increase in crude oil production and exports over the past few months as part of government efforts to secure more financial liquidity to bridge the budget deficit, which amounts to $25 billion.

According to figures published by the International Energy Agency, Iraq’s oil production increased in June to the highest level ever, reaching 4.12 million barrels per day.