Iraq has lost 70 percent of its oil revenue due to low oil prices, the spokesperson for the Iraqi oil ministry told Anadolu Agency on Friday.
Oil is globally traded at around $30, more than 70 percent lower than mid-2014 prices, bringing a heavy burden on oil producing country's budgets.
Asim Jihad, the spokesperson, said there is a political motive behind the decade-low prices with Iraq's economy being heavily burdened
'We have reached the highest level of production by 3.3 million barrels in November 2015,' Jihad said and added, 'however; the real problem is selling too much oil at low prices.'
Despite the oil market conditions, Jihad said Iraq plans to further increase oil production by drilling more than 4 million barrels of oil by mid 2016.
Referring to the disagreement with the Iraqi Kurdistan government (KRG), Jihad laid the blame on the KRG administration for not abiding by the deal and exporting undeclared amounts of oil.
'The Central Iraqi government has fulfilled promises to the KRG and other governorates. The KRG was supposed to deliver 550 thousands barrel of oil, 300 thousand from Kirkuk and 250 thousand from KRG sources. However, the KRG administration did not deliver the agreed total. It delivered less than half of it up to May [2015] and stopped even this amount after that,' Jihad said.
The Iraqi government expects KRG to make its agreed quota this year, Jihad said.
One of Iraq's biggest refineries, Baiji, which was liberated from Daesh last October, is now beginning repairs, Jihad said.
Writing By Furkan Naci Top & Reporting By Haydar Hadi from Baghdad
Anadolu Agency
furkan.top@aa.com.tr