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Oil revenues $3 billion a month
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Azzaman - [5/10/2006]
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The hike in oil prices and a temporary surge in exports have pushed Iraqi oil revenues to $3 billion a month from $2.1 billion, the Oil Ministry said in a statement.
There has also been a hike in refinery output but refining capacity remains restricted mainly due to acts of sabotage, it said.
The statement, obtained by the newspaper, said Iraqi oil exports stood at 1.6 million barrels a day.
Prior to the U.S. invasion, oil exports averaged 2.2 million barrels.
But the surge in revenues is good news to the cash-strapped government struggling to upgrade public services and battling rebels bent to topple it and force occupation troops to leave.
The government, the statement said, has decided to use the extra cash to meet its budget deficit.
Iraqi refineries now churn out 13 million liters of gasoline but the amount is way below domestic consumption.
The country relies heavily on imports to meet fuel needs.
The statement blamed power shortages for the failure of refineries to boost output.
It said some refineries were idle due to power outages.
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