Iraq demands negotiations with OPEC+ over reduction percentages

Shafaq News / The Parliamentary Oil and Energy Committee demanded on Tuesday SOMO to negotiate with OPEC + to reduce the oil reduction percentage.

Committee member Ghaleb Muhammad said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "Iraq must abide by the OPEC + agreement, given that this reduction led to the increase in oil prices after a sharp drop", indicating that, "the agreed reduction will be 34% for a six months, 24% later. These percentages will decrease more after 2022 if COVID-19 risk decreases.

"The most prominent country benefiting from the OPEC+ agreement is Iraq, as it is a rentier country and 95% depends on oil revenues. Therefore, any change in oil prices will affect the Iraqi budget," Mohammed added.

Muhammad called for, "holding talks with OPEC +, especially with Saudi Arabia, and agreeing again on a new mechanism for reduction that takes into account Iraq's financial condition".

OPEC+ agreed in April to reduce oil prices after they fell to less than 20 and a half dollars. The agreement included reducing oil production by 9.7 million barrels/day and 300 thousand barrels per day.

The reduction decision began last May, for a two-month period, followed by another agreement to reduce production to 8 million barrels per day until the end of 2020.

Iraq's share of the reduction was 1.061 million barrels per day. The International Monetary Fund had indicated in its October report that Iraq had lost 50% of its oil revenues during the first half of this year.