Workers walk down a path in the Nihran Bin Omar oilfield north of Basra. Photo: AP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi government aims to spend 217 trillion Iraqi dinars (around $166 billion) in 2027, assuming an oil price of $58 per barrel, according to parliamentarians familiar with the draft budget.
The measures would result in a fiscal deficit of around 40 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $30.6 billion).
Members of the parliamentary finance committee told Reuters that the draft budget anticipates crude oil exports of around four million barrels per day, including shipments from Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Iraqi cabinet is also studying raising the local currency’s exchange rate to between 1,400 and 1,500 Iraqi dinars per US dollar, up from roughly 1,300 now, according to legislators.
Oil exports generate the majority of the Iraqi government’s revenue, accounting for roughly 80 percent of the general budget’s resources.
The US-Israeli military conflict with Iran has disrupted shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iraq to seek other routes for its crude oil exports.
The Iraqi parliament is about to start official deliberations on the 2027 federal budget.
The 2027 budget represents a structural transformation by allocating 150 trillion ($114.5 billion) for traditional line items and 50 trillion Iraqi dinar ($38.2 billion) for a new World Bank-coordinated program-and-performance model to measure expenditure efficiency.