ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi oil ministry said on Thursday that it collected over $9 billion in oil revenue for the month of August, the country’s lowest reported earnings from oil sales in six months.
Iraq’s oil sales generated a total gross amount of $9.7 billion in August, according to the ministry's numbers. This is the first time the country has collected below $10 billion in oil revenue in three months.
The earnings of August is the third lowest since the start of the year, topped only by January’s $8.3 billion and February’s $8.8 billion, with the latter regarded as Iraq’s highest oil revenue in eight years at the time.
According to the oil ministry’s monthly report, Iraq exported over 101.8 million barrels of crude oil last month, at a rate of 3.2 million barrels per day with an average price of $96 per barrel.
The drop in the average price of a barrel explains the decline in oil earnings, as the price of one barrel was placed at $103 in July, and $113 in June, which is considered to be Iraq’s highest earning month from oil sales ever.
August’s earnings bring Iraq’s 2022 total gross from oil sales to over $81.6 billion, already surpassing the entire revenue of 2021 which was $75.6 billion.
The Iraqi government is dependent on oil revenues to cover its costs and pay the salaries of civil servants. Despite suffering in much of 2021 due to record low oil prices the country’s economy is once again booming as oil prices are increasing globally.
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