Govt. sets barrel price at $73 in 2011 budget

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The oil and finance ministries agreed to set the price of oil barrel at 73 dollars, to be endorsed in the 2011 state budget, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said on Saturday. “The agreement comes in light of an export rate of 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd), including the oil exports from northern Iraq‘s Kurdistan Region, estimated at 100,000 bpd,” Jihad told IraqiNews.com news agency. Jihad pointed out that his ministry had talks with the World Bank in Amman recently in the presence of Iraq‘s oil and finance ministers as well as experts from the Central Bank of Iraq. “The World Bank expressed satisfaction over Iraq‘s achievements in the field of developing oil and gas fields, which should help improve economic conditions to cope with the global economy and overcome the current state budget deficit by 2013,” he added. SKH (S)/AmR 3