Iraq expected to increase black oil exports
The gas field of Siba in Basra , Iraq. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi expected on Thursday that Iraq’s exports of black oil would be more than 10 million tons in 2023, according to Alsumaria News.
“Iraq exported more than 7.627 million tons of black oil in 2022, with a total value of $4 billion,” Al-Marsoumi said via Twitter.
The Iraqi economist added that black oil exports from Iraq are expected to exceed 10 million tons in 2023 after the operation of the Karbala and Qayyarah refineries, which will facilitate the Iraqi-Iranian agreement to barter Iraqi oil for Iranian gas.
Iraq and Iran signed a new agreement on Tuesday related to Tehran’s gas exports to Baghdad to avoid the US sanctions imposed on Iran and to provide gas to solve the electricity crisis Iraq has been facing for years.
Black oil is a traditional crude oil containing alkane liquids. Black oils consist of a wide variety of chemical species, including large, heavy and nonvolatile molecules.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, announced on Tuesday that Iraq had reached an agreement with Iran regarding gas imports, which Iraq needs to operate power plants.
During a meeting with Iraqi officials in the energy sector, Al-Sudani noted that the US sanctions and non-compliance with the gas dues payment mechanism agreed upon in 2018 caused a 50 percent reduction in gas supplies from Iran, which negatively affected electricity production in Iraq.
Iraq imports electricity and gas from Iran, which together constitute between 33 and 40 percent of the country’s energy supplies, especially in the scorching summer months, when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and energy consumption reaches its peak.