Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq exported 100 million barrels of oil during the month of August for more than USD4.5 billion, the petroleum ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Ministry spokesperson Assem Jihad said an initial statistic released by the state-run marketing company, SOMO, revealed that exports exceeded 99,700, 761 barrels, with returns amounting to more than USD4.608 million.

The statistic did not include exports from Kirkuk oil fields, Jihad noted.

Daily exports rate reached 3.216 million barrels, with the average price standing at USD46.2 per barrel, he added. That is a drop from a daily 3.230 million barrels in July, according to the statement.

Iraq’s war against Islamic State militants since 2014 and falling world prices have added to the pains of the economy of OPEC’s second largest producer.

Iraq’s oil marketing company said early July that the country exported 592.378 million barrels of petroleum during the first half of 2017.

In a statement, SOMO said that represented a monthly exportation rate of 98.729 million barrels, and a daily rate of 3.290 million barrels.

The exports yielded revenues worth USD26.771 million during that period, recording a monthly return of USD4.592 million a month., said the company.

Iraq’s oil production currently stands at 4.32 million barrels per day (bpd) and the country is exporting up to 3.23 million bpd, Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said Friday, noting that Kurdish oil exports stand at 300,000-350,000 bpd.

*Correction: the number 3.2016 was corrected to 3.216 million barrels









