In detail.. The Iraqi budget is subject to political and economic amendments on Tuesday, 25 nov

 In detail.. The Iraqi budget is subject to political and economic amendments on Tuesday

11/24/2024

The Finance Committee of the Iraqi Council of Representatives revealed, on Sunday, the details of amending the budget law included on the agenda of next Tuesday's session.

The agenda of the House of Representatives for Tuesday included the first reading of the draft law amending the first law of the Federal Budget Law of the Republic of Iraq for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025) No. (13) of 2023.

Regarding these amendments, the committee member, MP Jamal Kocher, told Shafak News Agency, "The amendment to the budget law includes one paragraph, which is the cost of producing oil in the Kurdistan Region. The previous amount was very small, and after studying and discussing between the federal government and the regional government, they reached the conclusion that the estimate should be immediate to address and solve the problem, and it should be (16) dollars per barrel, until the final answer is obtained from the advisory committee specialized in determining production costs in coordination with the regional government and production companies operating in the fields."

Kocher added, "This amendment aims to solve the problem and re-export the Kurdistan Region's oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. There is a political agreement on this, and the political agreement stressed the necessity of solving this problem. Without the political agreement, this amendment would not have been presented in the House of Representatives, and it will be passed according to this agreement without any obstacles within the parliament regarding this increase."

For his part, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, explained that the paragraph amending the general budget law will be limited to Articles 12 and 13 related to the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports and revenues.

Al-Kadhimi explained that "Article 12, which will be amended in the budget law, relates to the costs of producing and transporting oil in the region, as the costs of producing oil differ in Basra and are calculated at $6 per barrel, while in the Kurdistan Region they are calculated at $20."  

He pointed out that "Article 13 of the budget law, which will witness amendment, relates to the region's oil exports and its export via the Turkish port of Ceyhan."

Al-Kadhimi pointed out the importance and emphasis on amending the budget law and voting on it before the end of the current legislative session, especially since the extended session will end on December 9.   LINK