Iraq loses $11bn in four months as oil prices plunge

Iraq has incurred around $11 billion in losses in four months due to the global drop in oil prices, the State Organisation for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) announced yesterday.

“Over the first four months of 2020, Iraq sold approximately 409,096,972 barrels of crude oil at an average price of nearly $38 per barrel, achieving around $15.4 million in revenue,” SOMO said in a statement.

The state-run organisation added that the country sold 423,284,489 barrels during the same period of 2019 at an average price of $62 per barrel. “Iraq achieved a total of $26.2 million in oil revenues in the first four months of 2019,” the organisation added.

Reuters recently reported that oil prices had fallen yesterday as investors were worried about a second wave of coronavirus infections. But it added that the new output cuts from Saudi Arabia had tempered worries about oversupply and limited price losses.

Global oil demand has slumped by about 30 per cent as the coronavirus pandemic has curtailed movement across the world, leading to growing inventories globally. While crude futures have fallen more than 55 per cent this year because of the virus, prices have risen over the past two weeks, supported by a modest rebound in demand as some travel restrictions – which were imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus – were eased.

READ: Thousands restart anti-government protests in Iraq