An Iranian official reveals the country's reserves of black gold
The Executive Director of the National Iranian Oil Company stated that Iranian oil production has increased by more than one million barrels per day since the current government took office in August 2021.
Executive Director Mohsen Khojasta Mehr said, “Iran has regained its previous production ranking in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.” OPEC, which was registered before the embargo, pointed out that “oil production during the era of the previous government was on average 2.25 million barrels per day, and today it has reached 3.3 million barrels.”
He added, "Within the next 10 days, production will reach 3.4 million barrels per day. He revealed that Iranian oil production will reach the level of 5.7 million barrels per day in the next eight years, and gas production will reach 1.5 billion cubic meters per day."
He stressed that "Iran's oil and gas reserves amount to 340 billion barrels, and it has 400 oil and gas reservoirs and is at the forefront of the world in this field, adding that the average recovery in oil fields is 25%, and gas is about 70%." link
Al-Sudani meets with American companies to support gas investments in Iraq
9/21/2023 Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani announced yesterday, Wednesday, that he will meet with dozens of American companies as part of efforts to boost investment in the gas sector.
Al-Sudani said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York: “My government is serious about investing in gas and in becoming an active and strong player in the market.”
Al-Sudani, who met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken while he was in New York, said that the latter invited him to visit the White House, expressing his hope to do so by the end of this year.
Al-Sudani revealed that he met with American companies operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and wishing to move to the rest of the regions in his country, and that he intends to meet representatives of 31 other companies today. He indicated that his government also aspires to complete agreements with Emirati and Chinese companies, although he refused to give specific information in this regard.
Iraq aims to achieve self-sufficiency in gas production and export
Iraq is trying to reduce its dependence on Iran for obtaining gas, a measure that has become more difficult given that the harsh US sanctions on Iran make the payment process difficult. It is also spending billions of dollars to increase its gas production to avoid supply disruptions.
Al-Sudani stated that Iraq - the second largest oil producer in OPEC - wants to maintain stable oil prices “to ensure the interests of producers and consumers,” expecting the price of oil not to fall below a range ranging between 85 and 95 dollars per barrel.
He concluded: "Iraq is committed to achieving the voluntary goal that we agreed upon within OPEC." LINK
During this time-frame we had some key components that were needed to be sorted. We've been talking about this for a while - the 23, 24, 25 tripartite budget has not been spending any money, hasn't allocated any money...that's going to be resolved.
This U.N. assembly goes on for quite a few days...it goes all the way out to the 23rd and then a final day on the 26th. Iraq is going to showcase themselves this next Friday.
Al Sudani going to New York for a week to cut deals? Maybe. We'll see how that turns out...
Everything we've been seeing...is showing Iraq is going to have a big week.
Al Sudani is set to arrive in New York on the 18th. I would imagine there's going to be sideline deals. If you look at the lineup from the U.N...Iraq is slated [to speak] on Friday the 22nd...Iraq is coming out to the world and we're going to be a part of it. I'm really excited to see it...
Conflicting expectations for dollar prices…and talk of a “big shock”
2023-09-20 23:19
Conflicting expectations for dollar prices...and talk of a big shockShafaq News/ The visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, to the United States of America is important in terms of its timing, which coincides with the crisis of the rise in the dollar exchange rate, amid high hopes that Iraqis have for the possibility of finding solutions to this issue.
Al-Sudani left for New York to participate in the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, at its seventy-eighth session, and met on the sidelines of his participation in the meetings with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was issued an official invitation by US President Joe Biden to visit the White House.
This comes at a time when the dollar exchange rates in Iraqi local markets are witnessing unstable jumps until they approached 160 thousand dinars per 100 dollars, for internal and external reasons, as attributed by specialists.
In this context, a member of the Iraqi House of Representatives, Firas Al-Muslimaoui, says, “The House of Representatives hosted the Governor of the Central Bank following the rise in the dollar exchange rate, and he explained that the reasons for the rise are due to internal and external factors.”
Internal factors
Al-Muslimaoui explained to Shafaq News Agency, “Internal factors include those related to merchants escaping taxes and purchasing dollars from the black market, and among them are administrative obstacles, some of which require those who take dollars to register a company.”
He added, “The Central Bank sought to address these obstacles, and decided to allow individuals, not companies, to buy dollars if they supply goods, provided that they are committed to ensuring that the goods are of the country’s need, real, and have official receipts.”
The third factor, according to Al-Muslimaoui, is that “the Central Bank submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to reconsider the tax rate imposed on existing goods and reduce it, to encourage the merchant to buy through official methods.”
He continues, “The fourth factor is smuggling. There is security work and large gangs have been arrested for smuggling dollars out of Iraq.”
External factors
The representative points out that “external factors are related to the US Treasury policy, and these are outside the management of the Central Bank, so it is expected that the dollar exchange rate will be one of the issues that the Prime Minister will discuss in his current visit.”
At the conclusion of his speech, Al-Muslimaoui expected that “the dollar exchange rate will witness a gradual decline over the next few days, in a way that does not affect the Iraqi market.”
Continuous rise
On the other hand, the researcher in financial affairs, Ahmed Fouad Shukri, believes that “the dollar will continue to rise due to the government not taking real measures to curb its rise, but rather was content with some preventive or precautionary measures.”
Shukri explained to Shafaq News Agency, “The government banned dealing in the dollar within the local market, and it succeeded to a certain extent, but a large percentage of Iraq’s imports come from neighboring countries that are subject to American sanctions, such as Syria and a number of Turkish and Iranian companies that are completely banned from dealing in the dollar, and they did not The government has so far established a specific mechanism for trade exchange with these countries, and for the purchase and payment processes.”
He points out that “there are other factors that the government did not pay attention to, including the country’s high budget, which leads to fears and bad and negative expectations, high inflation, and Iraq’s foreign debts. These are all factors that contribute to the decline of the currency locally against foreign currencies in general, and since Iraq is linked to… In dollars, this rise will certainly happen.”
He continues, “In addition to the main and largest reason, which is the American sanctions that led to the rise of the dollar in the recent period, there are sanctions that may be more severe and may affect the Central Bank of Iraq, through which a major shock could be exposed, and also with regard to financial transfers that have become confined to the hands of the American Federal Reserve, which “The risks to the Iraqi government have increased significantly.”
Iraqi Prime Minister meets NATO Secretary-General to discuss cooperation and security
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani held a meeting with the NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Al-Sudani invited Secretary-General Stoltenberg to visit Iraq, emphasizing the desire for enhanced cooperation.
Al-Sudani expressed his appreciation for NATO's support during the war against ISIS. He noted that NATO's direct participation in military operations and providing advice and training to Iraqi security forces had contributed significantly to the country's stability.
Prime Minister Al-Sudani emphasized the importance of cooperation in exchanging information and tracking the sources of terrorist financing, given the global reach of terrorism networks. He also discussed challenges related to drug trafficking and smuggling.
Al-Sudani highlighted that the Iraqi government is currently reviewing its relationship with the Global Coalition in light of the readiness of the Iraqi security forces. This review process has led to the formation of a bilateral committee, multiple dialogues, and a recent visit by a delegation from the Ministry of Defense to Washington to discuss the development and training of Iraqi forces.
Secretary-General Stoltenberg expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the steps taken by the Iraqi government in pursuing reforms and for the crucial role played by Iraqi security forces in defeating ISIS and countering threats within Iraq and to NATO countries.
Stoltenberg emphasized NATO's "respect" for Iraq's sovereignty and its commitment to expanding cooperation, including providing advice and training to Iraqi security forces, which could encompass formations within the Ministry of Interior.