OPEC excludes Iraq from production cut plan-spokesman

BAGHDAD/IraqiNews.com: Oil Ministry spokesman on Friday said Iraq was excluded from OPEC’s plan to cut production following a sharp drop in the global markets. “OPEC announced in a statement its plan to cut crude oil production to 1.5 million barrel per day (BPD) but Iraq,” Assim Jihad, spokesman for oil Ministry, told IraqiNews.com. “The decision was taken because Iraq oil exports pumped outside the quota decided by OPEC,” he noted. Iraq’s exports in September fell to just 1.64 million barrels per day, down from 1.75 million bpd in August, the Oil Ministry said on Wednesday, blaming power shortages and technical problems. Exports have fallen in recent months after nearly touching 2.0 million barrels per day in May, and the government says poor infrastructure is to blame. Iraq desperately needs to rebuild infrastructure wrecked by decades of war, U.N. sanctions and neglect. But the price of oil — which accounts for more than 90 percent of Iraq’s revenues — has fallen by more than half since a high of $147 a barrel in July, in part as a result of slowing global demand caused by the international economic crisis. AM(S) 1