Skip to main content
Fallback image

Iraq discloses details over $50 billion from oil sales

Iraq discloses details over $50 billion from oil sales

Iraq’s government received US$ 52.2 billion from sales of its crude oil to 35 international buyers in 2010 according to the new Iraq EITI Report.

These figures were disclosed as part of Iraq’s implementation of the EITI transparency standard, which requires full disclosure of taxes and other payments that companies pay to the government for extraction of the country’s natural resources.

These government revenues from oil sales, equivalent to over US$1,500 per Iraqi citizen, constitute three quarters of the total government budget for the same year.

Sales were up over 25% from 2009. Of the total oil production of 860 million barrels in 2010, 690 million barrels were exported. The three largest buyers were the Indian Oil Corporation, Chevron and Sinochem.

Furthermore, the report covers the signature bonuses received from the international oil companies operating in Iraq, which amounted to US$ 1.65 billion, out of which USD 500 million were in a form of a loan that is related to Al-Rumailah Oil Field contract which was repaid in 2012. The tax structure and liabilities for these companies are described in the report, though no taxes were paid in 2010.  The report also includes an outline of the mining industries in Iraq, including a summary of the main mineral resources and investment opportunities.

The semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has a series of production sharing agreements directly with international companies.  For the first time, the report includes also a separate chapter on revenues in this region, which amounts to US$ 283 million from 15 companies and a total production of 28 million barrels.  This is the first time that revenues in this region has been published alongside the revenue for the federal government.

The oil and gas industry in Baghdad-controlled Iraq is fully state-owned. It is planned that in future years, the scope of the EITI will increase to include non-cash oil exports as well as domestic consumption.  A description of the mining sector is also included.

Iraq, trailing at the bottom of TI’s Corruption Perception Index, has been implementing the EITI standard in order to instill transparency into the management of its vast natural resource sector. Reporting for 2011 will begin soon and is likely to show that the income to government continues to grow rapidly.

Download the Iraq 2010 EITI Report

For further information about Iraq's EITI, please visit the country page on the EITI website

Countries
Iraq