The oil contribution to the Iraqi budget declined to 93%, and an expert considers it a “high” percentage.

The oil contribution to the Iraqi budget declined to 93%, and an expert considers it a “high” percentage.

2024-02-25 01:25

The oil contribution to the Iraqi budget declined to 93 percent and an expert considers it a high percentage.Shafaq News/ The Ministry of Finance revealed, on Sunday, that the volume of Iraqi revenues in the federal budget during 12 months exceeded 135 trillion dinars, confirming that the oil contribution to the budget had decreased to 93%.

Shafaq News Agency continued that the data and tables issued by the Ministry of Finance this February, for the accounts of the 12 months of the last fiscal year, showed that oil is still the main resource for Iraq’s general budget, reaching 93%, which indicates that the rentier economy is the basis for… The country’s general budget.

The financial tables also indicated that the total revenues until December of last year amounted to 135 trillion 681 billion 266 million 197 thousand and 696 dinars, after excluding transfer revenues from them, which amounted to 1 trillion 259 billion 301 million and 196 thousand dinars, indicating that the total expenditures with advances It amounted to 122 trillion 772 billion 745 million 546 thousand dinars.

According to the financial tables, oil revenues amounted to 125 trillion and 882 billion and 218 million and 622 thousand dinars, which constitute 93% of the general budget, while non-oil revenues amounted to 9 trillion and 799 billion and 47 million and 964 thousand dinars.

Meanwhile, economic expert Hilal Al-Taan considered, in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, that “the decrease in the percentage of oil in the budget came as a result of Iraq reducing its oil production in compliance with the decisions of OPEC, adding that this percentage is still high compared to oil-producing countries.”

He added that Iraq ended the fiscal year with a slight surplus, which means that expenditures were large.

Al-Taan also pointed out that “the government will remain dependent on oil for a long time as the main source of the budget, because it has not developed other economic sectors, stressing that it needs political will and a real will to do so.”

Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani confirmed yesterday, Saturday, that Iraq reduced its oil production by 600,000 barrels per day within the OPEC plan, bringing the country’s production to 4 million barrels per day.

The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed in March 2021, in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, that the reasons for the economy remaining rentier are due to wars and the imposition of the economic blockade on Iraq during the past era and the political conflicts we are witnessing today, which led to… Dispersal of economic resources.

Abdul Ghani said in his speech during the (Sixth Baghdad Dialogue Conference / Regional Communication): “The Ministry of Oil has developed an ambitious plan to increase production, but Iraq is a major part of OPEC, and is committed to the organization’s production ceilings, and Iraq’s share amounted to four million (600,000) barrels.” There was a reduction two years ago and production became four million (400,000) barrels per day.”

He added, “There are two voluntary reductions, and Iraq implemented them, and production reached (4) million barrels per day,” noting that “the goal of this is to maintain price stability and achieve a balance between supply and demand.”

The Iraqi state’s continued reliance on oil as the sole source of the general budget puts Iraq at risk from the global crises that occur from time to time because oil is affected by them, which makes the country turn every time to cover the deficit through borrowing from abroad or within, and thus indicates the inability to Managing state funds effectively, and the inability to find alternative financing solutions.

shafaq.com