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Iraq says oil revenues rise despite low global prices Iraq’s PM orders probe into oil corruption allegations
(about 5 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s monthly oil revenue has risen by more than 30 percent to $2.9 billion despite low global prices that have placed a major strain on the country’s economy. BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into corruption allegations against senior oil ministers following an expose into bribe-taking published in international media outlets.
Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a statement Friday that exports inched up to 3.286 million barrels per day in March from 3.225 million the previous month. Last month’s total revenue was just $2.2 billion. In a statement Saturday, Haider al-Abadi ordered “immediate” action by both the anti-corruption commission and the judiciary following reports published by the Huffington Post and Australia’s Fairfax media into large-scale bribe taking by Monaco-based Unaoil company.
The plunge in oil prices has battered Iraq’s economy at a time when Baghdad is struggling to combat the Islamic State group. Iraq holds the world’s fourth largest oil reserves, and oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of its budget. The reports names four senior Iraqi officials, including two oil ministers, as having received bribes from Unaoil between 2004 and 2012. The publications said they drew on information gleaned from hundreds of thousands of internal emails dated between 2002 and 2012 for their six-month investigation.
Jihad says last month’s average price was $28 per barrel. Iraq’s 2016 budget is based on an expected price of $45 per barrel. The revelations come as al-Abadi faces mounting criticism over government corruption and long overdue political reform.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.