Tishwash: Iraq surpasses Saudi Arabia in oil exports to the US
The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced on Sunday that Iraq’s oil exports surpassed those of Saudi Arabia last week, reaching 203,000 barrels per day.
The administration explained, in its weekly schedule, that “the average US imports of crude oil from ten major countries reached 5.648 million barrels per day, an increase of 975,000 barrels from the previous week, when the average was 4.673 million barrels per day.”
She added, “Iraq’s oil exports to the United States have risen to 203,000 barrels per day, meaning that Iraq has surpassed Saudi Arabia, whose exports reached 144,000 barrels per day.”
Regarding other countries, the administration indicated that “the largest US oil revenues last week came from Canada, at a rate of 3.983 million barrels per day, followed by Mexico, at a rate of 393,000 barrels per day, then Brazil, at a rate of 241,000 barrels per day, and Venezuela, at a rate of 195,000 barrels per day.”
The report continued, explaining that US crude oil imports also included Colombia at a rate of 190,000 barrels per day, Saudi Arabia at a rate of 144,000 barrels per day, Ecuador at a rate of 127,000 barrels per day, and Libya and Nigeria at a rate of 86,000 barrels per day each. link
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Tishwash: Central Bank: We will launch a major initiative to finance industrial projects
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Sunday its intention to launch a major initiative to finance industrial projects in cooperation with the Trade Bank of Iraq and the Industrial Bank.
“We are currently making arrangements to finance major industrial projects through coordination between the Trade Bank of Iraq and the Industrial Bank. This will be done by utilizing the liquidity available at the Trade Bank of Iraq and recycling this money in the Industrial Bank to launch a major initiative to finance industrial projects in Iraq, which will soon see the light of day,” Central Bank Governor Ali Al-Alaq told the National News Agency, as reported by Kalamah News.
He added, “This initiative was recently proposed by the Cabinet as part of the government’s banking sector reform program and government measures with the Central Bank,” noting that “the Cabinet agreed to cooperate between government banks with a financial surplus to finance a package of industrial projects through the Industrial Bank.”
He explained that “all other projects are funded according to their sectoral channels, as part of the government’s general approach to supporting industrial, agricultural, housing, education, health, investment, and other projects.” link
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Tishwash: Iraq is accelerating its efforts to wean itself off Iranian gas. What are the immediate alternatives?
Member of the Parliamentary Electricity and Energy Committee, Hatem Al-Saadi, confirmed on Sunday that the government has begun to look for alternatives to Iranian gas to power power plants, especially with the approaching summer season and increased energy demand. He also pointed to a number of alternatives to compensate for Iranian gas, which is under US sanctions.
Al-Saadi said, “The move toward clean energy has become a foregone conclusion, especially after the imposition of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resulting damage to Iraq. The Iraqi government had to find alternatives to Iranian gas, which will lead to a significant shortage in electricity supply next summer.”
Al-Saadi added, “Solutions must be immediate and swift. There are gas imports from abroad, offshore platforms after construction, and oil pipelines being constructed by the Oil Projects Company from the ports to the power plants in Basra Governorate.”
Al-Saadi continued, “The government has begun to move toward renewable energy and existing waste, especially since a number of investment companies are interested in generating electricity by establishing stations after incinerating existing waste in Iraq.” He noted that “there is a directive from the Ministry of Electricity to all governorates to provide plots of land for this purpose.”
The parliamentary energy member continued, “Electricity is a crucial element, and the government has taken proactive steps to minimize the damage caused by the Iranian gas cutoff. If there is a shortage of electricity, we could witness demonstrations due to the deterioration of electricity services over the past 20 years, due to the rampant corruption of successive governments, without any deterrent to all these corrupt individuals.”
Al-Saadi pointed out that “gas imports will currently be from Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, which are the closest and best options, given their proximity to the Arabian Gulf.” link
