Article: “IraqÂ?s Shrinking Revenues, the I.M.F. and the Oil Dilemma ”
Quote: “The suggested reform program is very ambitious. It aims, according to the I.M.F., to bring spending in line with lower global oil prices…”
When I read articles like this the IMF is doing exactly what they should be doing.
They’re insuring that the only real business model in Iraq stays afloat and the IOC’s get paid, otherwise, these folks will pull up stakes and then Iraq really will be in a jam because without oil, there’s very little else generating revenue.
The numbers are staggering, Maliki and company brokered these deals when the price was $100 a barrel, now that it’s dropped to below $50.
To keep payments at that rate when the oil price hit $30/barrel (or bbl), Iraq had to allocate more than three times that volume.
This is more than 50 percent of its total oil exports that represent close to 90 percent of its budgeted revenues.
Iraq had less oil to export and at a lower price, generating less and less revenues.
The model is unsustainable, something has to change quickly.
