Baghdad – WAA – Falih Al-Obaidi
The Ministry of Oil revealed understandings with the companies operating the oil fields to compensate them with production quantities after reducing production, and while it confirmed that it did not receive the quantities of crude oil exported from the Kurdistan Region, it ruled out dispensing with oil in generating electricity in the future.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry, Hamid Younis Al-Zubaie, told the (INA) today, Sunday, that “after the fall in oil prices, the export quantities were determined by OPEC and turned into quotas,” noting that “Iraq is the second largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and has a fundamental position in terms of influencing the decision and determining policies that are based on an economic basis that is beneficial to the country.”
He added, “Last year, Iraq played a major role with OPEC in controlling global oil prices and creating balances between producers and consumers, whether with OPEC or OPEC Plus, and the impact was clear through the rise in oil prices that exceeded $65 per barrel.”
He continued, “This role is important and is credited to Iraq through its position in OPEC and also for the purpose of providing financial resources that it is in dire need of,” noting that “there are understandings with the companies operating the oil fields to go in the future to compensate them with production quantities and not to go to the issue of fines.”
Regarding the region’s oil, Al-Zubaie explained that “the center has not yet received any quantity of oil exported by the Kurdistan region,” stressing that “there are understandings taking place between the center and the region in the hope of reaching a bilateral agreement that serves the country’s interest in general.”
Regarding clean energy, Al-Zubaie said, “The world’s reduction in oil use and its move towards producing clean energy through solar cells and wind does not mean that oil will be dispensed with in the future,” indicating that “clean energy is very important due to its advantages, but its investment depends on the components of its production in each country.”
He continued, “For example, Iraq has great solar energy, which may not be available in other countries. Wind also does not exist in Iraq, but it does exist in other countries, which means that clean energy will not replace oil in the future, even though it is important from an economic standpoint in generating electricity.”
He noted that “oil has flexibility in terms of uses, transportation and other matters, as it remains the number one energy source in terms of uses in the countries of the world.”