São Paulo – Greater production of oil should grant Iraq growth of 9% in 2013. The forecast was announced on Friday (11) by the acting governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Abdul-Basit Turki, during a conference in Baghdad. The information was disclosed by news agency Reuters.
“I believe that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should reach US$ 150 billion by the end of the year. It will have grown 9%,” said Turki. The country estimates that the 2012 GDP grew 10% as against the previous year.
Approximately 95% of Iraqi revenues are generated by oil. Production of the commodity is as much as three million barrels a day, the largest level in three decades, as a result of recovery of the sector after years of economic sanctions and wars.
Expectations of the Central Bank are for the growth in production and export of the product to increase Iraqi foreign currency reserves from US$ 70 billion in December 2012 to between US$ 105 billion and US$ 110 billion late this year.
According to the 2012 annual statistic bulletin of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), Venezuela has the greatest oil reserves in the world, with 297.5 billion barrels. Saudi Arabia has the second greatest reserves of the commodity, which totals 265.4 billion barrels. The Saudis are followed by Iran, which has the equivalent to 154.6 billion barrels. Iraq has the fourth main reserves, with 141.4 billion barrels.
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Libya, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Qatar complete the list of 11 countries with the greatest reserves. The world’s main producers in 2011, in turn, were Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and China.
*Translated by Mark Ament
