Latest news with #NabilAl-Marsoumi
Shafaq News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq's April oil revenues barely cover salaries and licensing fees, economist says
Shafaq News/ Iraqi oil revenues for April are only sufficient to cover public sector salaries and oil licensing company expenses, economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi said on Tuesday. Al-Marsoumi stated that 'a drop in Iraq's oil exports and a decline in global oil prices—from $72.5 per barrel in March to $66.7 in April—led to a 15% decrease in revenues, from $7.716 billion to $6.738 billion.' The Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed these figures in a statement released Monday, outlining its final export and revenue statistics for April, based on data from the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO). According to the ministry, Iraq exported a total of 100,953,282 barrels of crude oil in April, generating $6.738 billion in revenue. The majority of exports—99,752,879 barrels—came from fields in central and southern Iraq. Additionally, 900,584 barrels were exported from the Qayyarah field in Nineveh province, while 299,819 barrels were exported to Jordan.
Iraqi News
26-05-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Can new Iraqi cities solve Baghdad's housing crisis?
Baghdad ( – For countless residents of Baghdad and across Iraq, the dream of owning a home has long been overshadowed by the burdensome reality of renting. A persistent housing crisis, fueled by years of instability and a growing population, has made property ownership a distant goal for many. In response, the Iraqi government has launched a series of ambitious new city projects, prompting a crucial question: Will these new developments finally end the rent dream for the average citizen? The government's strategy is ambitious. The Ministry of Construction and Housing recently opened sales centers for the new Al-Jawahiri and Ali Al-Wardi cities, which collectively promise to offer 150,000 housing units and 10,000 serviced land plots in the Abu Ghraib and Nahrawan districts. Another major initiative, the new Al-Sadr City project, aims to provide an additional 90,000 housing units. These projects signal a massive state-led effort to increase housing supply. However, the question of affordability remains at the heart of the debate. For instance, serviced land plots in the new cities are priced at 900,000 IQD per meter. For constructed units, the financial commitment is substantial. According to Ministry spokesperson Istabraq Sabah, a horizontal unit can require a 30 million IQD down payment, with the total price reaching up to 200 million IQD on an installment plan. This pricing structure has drawn criticism. Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi argues that the prices in these new suburban complexes are double what was expected and nearly match real estate prices within Baghdad itself, despite being on the city's outskirts. He suggests a lack of meaningful government support for citizens within these payment schemes, questioning their accessibility for middle and low-income families. The government has stated that a portion of these projects will target specific demographics. For example, 10,000 serviced land plots are set to be distributed through a competitive process among 21 categories of citizens, including families of martyrs, the wounded, widows, and those with special needs. Similarly, the new Al-Sadr City project allocates 11,000 units for residents of informal settlements at a subsidized and almost free price. While these social allocations are vital, they represent a fraction of the total units being built. The challenge remains whether the broader pricing models for the majority of these new homes are truly attainable for the citizens currently trapped in a cycle of renting. The government's large-scale developments offer a glimmer of hope, but their success in resolving the housing crisis will ultimately depend on their true affordability and whether they can bridge the gap between market prices and the financial reality of the average Iraqi family.
Shafaq News
18-05-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Decades later: Iraq's oil refinery in Somalia resurfaces in spotlight
Shafaq News/ An Iraqi oil refinery built in Somalia in the 1970s under a joint deal with Mogadishu still exists, an overlooked legacy just now brought to light by economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi. In remarks to Shafaq News, Al-Marsoumi noted that the facility was built in 1974 by Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects with an annual refining capacity of 500,000 tons. He explained that Iraq financed the refinery's construction in foreign currencies, while Somalia's 50% share of the project's costs was to be repaid over three years after operations began, at a symbolic interest rate. Al-Marsoumi noted that the Somali president asked Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit held in Baghdad on Saturday, to rehabilitate the now-damaged refinery, signaling interest in restarting operations. 'Quite the surprise,' he said. 'Iraq has a refinery abroad and nobody even knew!'
Shafaq News
29-04-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq oil breach: Pumping more amid price pressure
Shafaq News/ Iraq has exceeded its OPEC+ oil production quota by more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), exposing Baghdad to mounting pressure to curb output as global demand softens and oil prices decline. Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi, citing official data, said Iraq's crude exports averaged 3.437 million bpd in March, generating $7.716 billion in revenue. However, total production rose above 5.2 million bpd, far exceeding its OPEC+ target. OPEC+ sources told Reuters the group may consider advancing output cuts to June if market conditions worsen. Barclays, meanwhile, lowered its 2025 Brent price forecast to $70 a barrel, citing an anticipated surplus of one million bpd. According to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), Iraq exported more than 106 million barrels of crude in March, primarily from southern oil fields, with smaller volumes from Qayyara and Kirkuk. While Baghdad largely complied with its quota in early 2025, production surged in March, driven by the recovery of the Rumaila oilfield. April estimates suggest Iraq continued to overproduce by up to 300,000 bpd. 'This excess could lead to additional restrictions on Iraq's oil production starting in May,' Al-Marsoumi warned, adding that falling prices could face further pressure, especially with the lingering impact of tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump. In response to OPEC+ pressure, Iraq has announced plans to cut exports by around 100,000 bpd in May to demonstrate compliance. Baghdad has also pledged to submit an updated compensation plan to address its earlier overproduction. Analysts say Iraq's chronic struggle to stay within OPEC+ limits may draw sharper scrutiny this year as price weakness and supply concerns test the group's cohesion. 'Baghdad will likely face tougher demands to curb production if it wants to avoid stricter measures later this year,' one oil analyst said.
Zawya
09-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Iraq faces uphill battle to meet 20% renewable energy target by 2030
Iraq has set a target to expand the share of renewable energy sources to 20 percent in its energy mix by 2030 but only one major solar power project has taken off. Renewable sources currently account for a negligible part of Iraq's power supplies and analysts believe that achieving that target is not easy at such a short notice. More than a year after Baghdad announced plans for seven solar parks with a combined capacity of 7.5 gigawatts (GW), only one project has just been launched. 'Iraq has the potential to largely expand solar power uses given its long sunny days most of the year….but it had hesitated for a long time,' said Nabil Al-Marsoumi, an economics and energy professor at Basra University in South Iraq. 'Now there are several solar power projects on the cards but they are progressing slowly…...I believe that if Iraq wants to attain that target it should move head at a quicker pace…renewable energy is the best option for Iraq to tackle its power supply gap and end its reliance on Iranian gas for its power facilities.' Iraq's representative at the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Mudaffar Al-Jabbouri said in January that OPEC's second largest oil producer aims to widen its renewable energy share to 20 percent by 2030. 'Iraq has intensified its efforts to gradually and smoothly switch from conventional power sources to renewable energy,' he said. Iraq's only solar power project was launched in January this year by TotalEnergies with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) as part of a $27-billion agreement signed with Baghdad in 2023 for the development of oil and gas fields in Basra and construction of a seawater desalination plant to feed crude production. The Arab country, which controls the world's 12th largest gas resources, has also agreed with ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia, PowerChina and Abu Dhabi-based Masdar company to build solar power parks but no final deal has been signed so far. 'Iraq is keen to strengthen partnership with UAE companies…we will shortly sign an agreement with Masdar for the construction of a 1,000 MW solar power plant,' Iraq's Electricity Minister Ziad Fadil said on Thursday. Figures by the Electricity Ministry showed in 2024 Iraq's current electricity generation capacity is estimated at 18,000 MW while its actual needs exceed 30,000 MW. The bulk of the shortage had been replenished by neighboring Iran with nearly 10 GW supplies and 50 million cubic metres of gas per day to run power facilities. 'Iraq can end its reliance on Iranian gas and electricity…this can be done through the gradual switch to solar power stations, which I believe are highly feasible in this country,' well-known Iraqi energy analyst Hadi Taha told Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV. In 2023, Iraq's cabinet finalised a draft renewable energy law to regulate the sector and attract foreign capital to solar power and other renewable energy projects but the law has yet to be ratified by Parliament despite several debates. Besides solar energy, Iraq is planning to build a wind power farm with a capacity of 500 MW while it has also announced the ground-breaking of its first waste-to-energy project in capital Baghdad at a cost of $500 million. The project, launched in January, has a designed processing capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day, with three incineration lines, and is equipped with a 100MW steam turbine generator set. 'I think the 20 percent target is ambitious and will be very good if it is achieved…but at this project pace, I feel it may not materialise on time,' Taha said. (Reporting by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
