Iraq Oil Revenue Rises on Higher Prices, Shipments (Update1)

[Joanne98]

Source: Bloomberg

April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq, holder of the world's third- largest crude reserves, will experience a surge in oil revenue this year on record prices and a drop in attacks on pipelines.

Iraq may earn $70 billion from exports, twice the initial estimate, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said today in a quarterly report posted on its Web site. The price of Iraqi crude has increased by more than 250 percent since 2003, the report said.

The growing oil revenue has become part of the U.S. political debate about Iraq. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin of Michigan and other Democratic lawmakers are demanding that Iraq pay a greater share of the cost of reconstruction projects, saying it now can afford such expenditures.

Money earned from monthly exports increased 19 percent to $5.6 billion in March from the end of December, according to the Web site of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Crude oil for June delivery hit a record of $119.93 in New York two days ago. The contract traded at $115.20 at 10:42 a.m. London time.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIeRxYfHWIKw&refer=home

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Iraq also has a 300 billion dollar surplus. So WHY is Bush asking us for money?

[Hydra]

1. Bush wants our money

Because they don't have the hydrocarbon law in place yet.

That oil that is bringing in good revenues? We aren't getting our 3/4 cut on that.

Cheney must be LIVID right now.

[Joanne98]

2. They are probably siphoning alot out of the pipelines.

funny, they used to accused Saddam of the same thing.

[Hydra]

3. Probably

My guess is that the money isn't really in the hands of the Iraqi gov't- that we have to approve it or something.

I know Cheney is livid that the hydrocarbon law hasn't been passed yet simply due to the efficiency of it- they simply hand it to us. No extra effort involved, and it looks legal to the UN.