Iraq oil revenues fall short of budget projections: PM

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says despite remarkable hike in the country’s crude oil production, the oil revenues have not been high enough to cover budget projections.

Speaking in a televised interview on Saturday, Abadi said the country’s oil revenues are even lower than the figure projected in the country's austere budget for 2015, AFP reported.

"So far, our oil revenues are below what was passed in the budget," Abadi added, without providing exact figures on the shortfall.

Abadi's remarks came in spite of the previous reports, which showed that the country has registered the highest level of crude oil exports in decades during the recent months.

On May 2, Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that the country’s oil exports climbed to 3.077 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, compared to 2.98 million bpd in March.

According to a statement by Iraq’s Oil Ministry, the country exported a total of 92.8 million barrels of crude oil in March and brought in USD 4.8 billion in revenue, at an average selling price of USD 51.7 per barrel.

Iraq's parliament approved the country’s annual budget of 119.5 trillion Iraqi dinars in January (about USD 99.6 billion at that time).

The budget was about USD 3 billion lower than the original figure that had been approved by the Iraq’s cabinet a month before. The fall in budget was blamed on the current slump in price of oil, on which the government is almost completely reliant for funds.

The Arab country is also under tremendous financial pressure as a result of its battle against ISIL Takfiri terrorist group, which overran large swathes of Iraqi territory a year ago.

ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed militants took control of the city of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, before sweeping through parts of the country’s heartland.

The terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against all Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

Since then, Iraq’s army has been joined by Kurdish forces, as well as Shia and Sunni volunteers in operations to drive ISIL terrorists out of the areas they have seized.

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