Thursday AM Iraq Economic News Highlights 8-25-22
99 Million Barrels.. Iraq’s Revenues From Oil Sales Exceed 10 Billion Dollars In July
Energy Economy News-Baghdad On Thursday, the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced the total oil exports and revenues achieved for the month of July, indicating that the revenues exceeded 10 billion dollars .
The Ministry of Oil Marketing Company SOMO said in a statement that, according to the final statistics issued, the amount of crude oil exports for the month of July amounted to 102 million and 385 thousand and 49 barrels, with revenues of 10 billion and 368 million and 352 thousand dollars .
And she added, “The total quantities of crude oil exported for the month of July from oil fields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 99 million and 965 thousand and 94 barrels, while the quantities exported from Kirkuk oil through Ceyhan port were 2 million and 344 thousand and 536 barrels, while the quantities exported from Baiji refinery to Jordan 75,419 barrels of oil,” noting that “the average price per barrel amounted to 101,268 dollars .”
And it indicated that “the exported quantities were loaded by 35 international companies of different nationalities, from the ports of Basra, Khor Al-Amaya, the mono-buoys on the Gulf and the Turkish port of Ceyhan .” 60 . views Added 08/25/2022 – 10:47 AM Update 08/25/2022 – 12:53 PM
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=29461
Oil Rises, Supported By A Possible OPEC + Supply Cut
Energy Economy News-Baghdad Oil prices rose on Thursday due to escalating fears related to lack of supplies amid the disruption of Russian exports, the possibility of major oil producers cutting production and the partial closure of a refinery in the United States .
By 0400 GMT, Brent crude rose 59 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $101.81 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 42 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $95.31 a barrel .
Both crude touched three-week highs on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister hinted at the possibility of the OPEC+ cartel, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, cutting production to support prices .
Discussions about the Iran nuclear deal are also still stalled, which raises doubts about the resumption of Iranian oil exports .
In the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, BP announced the closure of some units of its Whiting refinery in Indiana after a fire caused by a short circuit on Wednesday. The refinery, which operates with a capacity of 430,000 barrels per day, is a major supplier of fuel to the central United States and the city of Chicago .
Talks between the European Union, the United States and Iran to revive the nuclear deal are still ongoing, and Iran says it has received a response from the United States to the “final” text drafted by the European Union to revive the nuclear deal .
OPEC sources told Reuters that the OPEC + production cut will likely coincide with the return of Iranian oil to the market if Tehran concludes a nuclear deal with world powers.
17 . views Added 08/25/2022 – 10:11 AM Update 08/25/2022 – 12:52 PM
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=29459
Integrity Investigates The Causes Of High Gasoline Prices And Advises The Establishment Of New Refineries
Posted On2022-08-25 By Sotaliraq Yesterday, Wednesday, the Integrity Commission recommended the development of comprehensive plans by the Ministry of Planning to rehabilitate the refineries and establish new ones, and investigate the gasoline supply crisis and the importance of developing inspection and control devices and linking them to the Minister of Oil.
The authority stated in a statement that it received (Al-Mada), a copy of it, that “the Control Department prepared a report on the visits of its field team to the Ministry of Oil, the General Company for the Distribution of Oil Derivatives and the bodies (Baghdad Distribution, Inspection of Oil Derivatives, Studies and Follow-up).”
The statement added, “The report included a meeting with the Undersecretary for Liquidation Affairs and the General Manager of the Oil Derivatives Distribution Company, as well as a number of private gas station owners in Baghdad, to follow up on the gasoline crisis in Baghdad and the provinces.”
He stressed the need to “establish new refineries similar to the Karbala refinery, and rehabilitate the existing refineries, especially the Baiji refinery, to ensure self-sufficiency and not resort to imports.”
The statement pointed out that “the report, a copy of which was sent to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Oil, called for activating the GPS system on the tanks, to follow their progress from the loading point to the unloading point, and to activate the feature of measuring the product level in the tanker cars.” And he spoke about “supporting the project of automation of civil and governmental stations initiated by the General Company for the Distribution of Oil Derivatives using the electronic control system by installing (electronic arm) on fuel tanks.”
The statement called for “the use of an electronic lock (electronic means) on the unloading counters and the loading nozzles of tanks, to reduce smuggling operations.”
He noted, “the importance of developing the inspection and control bodies in the Ministry of Oil, and linking the inspection body to the office of the minister or undersecretary, to give it broader powers, while limiting the import of fuel pumps to the Ministry of Oil; To prevent adding parts that enable the quantity of the product to be tampered with.”
The statement identified, “the reasons behind the crisis of oil derivatives, including the increase in demand for the product in the provinces bordering the Kurdistan region.”
He added, “This is in order to trade it in the region where prices are subject to the international bulletin of prices, which are often high compared to the position that supports gasoline prices.”
The statement pointed out that “car owners living in the region refueled from stations in the nearby governorates, such as (Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala).”
He stated, “The absence of supervision and the significant increase in the import of cars without being matched by an increase in the number of refineries, and the weakness of supervision and inspection in monitoring violations at filling stations, as the number of inspection owners does not exceed (70) affiliates throughout Iraq.”
And regarding the immediate measures taken by the General Company for the Distribution of Oil Products to address the crisis, the report stated, “This was represented by the issuance of the fuel card.”
And he indicated, “That card works according to an electronic control program to read the information of each vehicle through a card reader installed on the fuel pump, which is activated by a secret number specific to each vehicle owner.”
The statement went on to say that “the work of the fuel card in the governorates of Kirkuk and Nineveh, while future measures include increasing the supply of stations with fuel, increasing working hours throughout the day and proceeding with the procedures for implementing the contract; To implement the collection and electronic payment system.
The governorates near the Kurdistan region are witnessing from time to time a fuel crisis in conjunction with the high prices of derivatives within the region. LINK
Trade Announces That The Price Hike Crisis Has Passed… And Warnings Of The Repercussions Of Food Security
Posted On2022-08-25 By Sotaliraq Baghdad / Hussein Hatem The crisis of rising prices has not left Iraq since the change in the exchange rate of the dollar in late 2022, as prices remained in constant fluctuation, and after about two years of changing the exchange rate, the Ministry of Commerce announced that the price hike crisis had been overcome by adopting a successful policy represented in distributing the items of the ration card on the market.
Yesterday, Minister of Commerce Alaa al-Jubouri confirmed, yesterday, in a statement issued by his ministries and received by (Al-Mada), that “trade has succeeded in overcoming the crisis of high prices by adopting the distribution policy for the items of the ration card on the market and controlling prices in order to create a price balance, since the ration card system in force in Iraq It directly affects prices in the local market.”
He added, “The activation of the commercial flour project, and the government’s approval of the Food Security Law for the purchase of wheat, in addition to the quantities produced in Iraq, contributed significantly to controlling the price hike indicated by recent World Bank reports.”
In turn, the Director General of the General Company for Foodstuff Trading in the Ministry of Commerce, Lama Al-Moussawi, says that “in the past four years, the ration card materials were limited to oil and sugar, in addition to flour, which was distributed intermittently up to every 4 months, but after the launch of the food basket in In July of last year, the situation changed a lot.
Al-Moussawi continued, “We started distributing the food basket, which includes sugar, oil, rice, legumes and paste every 45 days, and at the beginning of this year, thanks to the allocations that were made available to us, we were able to distribute them on a monthly basis, and we are continuing to do so at a time witnessing a food crisis and a rise in prices.”
She pointed out, “Iraq, according to the indicators of international organizations, is among the countries least affected by the global food crisis,” noting that “food prices decreased due to the regular distribution of the food basket on a monthly basis and the support of trade despite its increase globally, as the price of a bag of Thai rice became 18,000. dinars after it was 43 thousand dinars.”
Al-Moussawi explained, “The ministry sought from the beginning to maintain and balance prices, and then we went to reduce them,” noting that “many families relied on the food basket items, after the regularity of its distribution mechanism, and it became distributed at the beginning of each month through agents, and these dates Fixed until the end of the year.
In turn, the economic affairs specialist, Safwan Qusay, says, “The process of controlling prices in the market is through providing sufficient storage at the Ministry of Commerce, to control the markets by pumping additional materials in the event of an increase in prices, as well as the possibility of local production.”
Qusay added, “The process of controlling prices is still subject to global supply and demand, and the import process,” noting that “the process of achieving strategic food security needs agricultural investment; To have internal food security that is not affected by fluctuations in international prices.”
He pointed out, “Dangers still pose to food security, as the Emergency Support Law for Food Security and Development does not repeat itself during the year 2023.”
Qusay pointed out, “The country needs a budget to determine the funds required to cover the items of the food basket and the ration card,” warning against “delaying the formation of a new government, and the repercussions that local markets may witness.” LINK
Electricity: We Have Been Working Without A Budget For Two Years… And We Depend On Grants And Tax Collection
Posted On2022-08-25 By Sotaliraq Baghdad/ Firas Adnan The Ministry of Electricity reported that it has been working without an investment budget for two years, pointing to its reliance on government grants and collection funds in the conduct of its affairs. It also talked about problems it suffers from, most notably the declared war on power transmission towers through a series of terrorist targets in a number of governorates.
The ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Musa, said, “The electricity file in Iraq involves many problems that were supposed to be addressed.”
Moussa added, “The ministry was keen to address these problems successively, because we are facing a vital file that has a continuous increase in demand and is exposed to many targets and suffers from high temperatures and technical symptoms.”
He pointed out, “The ministry’s plan began a year ago and it was presented to the cabinet in Jinha and won its approval and great support.”
Moussa pointed out that “the plan included an increase of 7,000 megawatts within one year, with the introduction of strategic transmission lines, rehabilitation and support for the distribution sector.”
He stressed, “We have proceeded with these details, and we have succeeded in adding 4,000 megawatts and we have succeeded in introducing strategic transmission lines that have been out of order since 2013.”
He explained, “These lines are the western Baghdad-Haditha transport line, the Khairat-Qadisiyah line, the Wasit-Southern-Baghdad line, and Diyala-Baquba,” and he spoke at the same time about “many lines that were broken and destroyed that were brought into work by the efforts of the ministry’s staff.”
And Moussa indicated, “The endeavors in the distribution sector included changing the capacity of transformers, creating feeders, and installing fixed and mobile stations.”
The presence of “many successes,” acknowledging that “these efforts did not keep pace with the current demand, and the reason for not covering the entire day’s processing hours is because the ministry has been working without an investment budget for two years.”
Moussa explained, “The ministry announces it frankly, it does not have budgets, and it is currently working with what comes to it from the collection funds that cover salaries, projects and grants it received from the Council of Ministers, and all that we are working on without investment budgets at all.”
He stated, “The ministry is obligated to pay the expenses of gas supplied from the Iranian side, as well as the expenses of the investors who work with it, and this is accompanied by an increase in demand with the networks exposed to terrorist operations from time to time.”
Moussa stressed, “The energy towers began to be exposed to a declared war that included the governorates of Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Basra, which witnessed the targeting and striking of transmission lines.” He continues, “Our endeavors were able to launch periodic and emergency maintenance with the introduction of transmission lines that achieve availability and support the distribution sector with certain parts.”
Moussa continues, “The financial problems did not discourage the ministry from performing its tasks, and there is a clear and tangible improvement for the citizen regarding what we have worked on, as well as efforts related to solar energy and electrical connectivity with neighboring countries, and these projects are hoped to add to the national system new energies and high reliability.”
He finds that the failure to approve budgets disrupted many of the joints of the plan, which was aimed at developing radical solutions. Moussa added, “The ministry is also suffering from the large spread of slums and the transformation of agricultural areas into residential areas. These have in general doubled the loads on the electrical network, with uncalculated loads that we did not know about, either from the municipal departments or the local administrations.” For his part, a member of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, inside Radi, said in a statement to Al-Mada that “the current production of electricity has reached 20,000 megawatts.”
Radi added, “Iraq is facing a problem related to increased consumption and lack of rationalization with the rise in temperatures, which reached more than 51 in some areas.”
He pointed out, “Technical problems in the ministry, which are not limited to production, but in the distribution and transportation sectors, in addition to violations of the electrical network.”
Radi explained, “The situation in this summer is generally better than in previous years, especially since the Ministry of Electricity was ready early in maintaining the stations, adding new transmission lines and transformers with new capabilities and relieving the bottleneck.”
While Radi confirmed, “The procedures are not without some problems that the ministry must address,” stressing that “the current production reaches all regions, but to varying degrees, as Basra is cut from the programmed pieces.”
The scourge of corruption that afflicts state institutions is one of the reasons for the continuation of the energy crisis, in addition to the networks’ exposure to actual problems outside the control of the state, including the low levels of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the suspension of some power stations in dams, and terrorist operations against electricity transmission towers from time to time. In addition to the continuing growing demand for the current at an annual rate of about two thousand megawatts. LINK
