On March 31, the Council of Representatives passed Iraq’s annual budget, which included a financial agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.
The KRG is supposed to receive 9.5 trillion Iraqi dinars ($6.5 billion), which will be disbursed in monthly increments, in return for submitting 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Iraq's oil marketer SOMO for export. The federal government will be able to cut off funds in the event of non-compliance, NRT said in a report.
Jihad told state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the federal government has submitted an objection.
Despite audible sighs of relief after the law was passed, implementation was always going to be the more difficult part.
In 2019, the KRG immediately abrogated that year’s budget law, which contained similar terms, leading to a more than two years of difficult talks between the two governments.
The ministry spokesperson also discussed Iraq’s current oil production.
“The goal of Iraq is to increase financial revenues, not quantity,” Jihad said, adding that an increase in quantity may lead to a decrease in oil prices.
He reaffirmed Iraq’ commitment to the OPEC+ limits on production.
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