Iraq Expects Higher Oil Price in Coming MonthsIraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid said on Sunday that the oil price would be getting higher regarding the current stability in the world market."The current oil prices are unacceptable and do not meet oil producers' expectations," Rashid was quoted as saying by the official Iraqi News Agency. He expected the oil price to get higher in the coming four months due to possible increase of oil demand in the winter. Iraq will take part in the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), scheduled to be held in Vienna on September 28, said Rashid. Iraq has firmly opposed any increase of oil production by OPEC as a result of pressure from western countries, especially the United States. Iraq, which has been under stringent United Nations sanctions since its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, is not a part of the OPEC quota system. It is allowed, under the U.N. oil-for-food program launched in 1996, to sell oil in return for U.N.-monitored imports of food, medicine and other basic needs to offset the impact of the sweeping sanctions. Iraq's current oil output stands at some 3 million barrels per day (bpd), among which 2.3 million bpd are for exports and the rest for domestic consumption. |
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