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China and India provided Iraq with nearly 70 percent of its total oil export revenues in 2024 as they emerged as the largest importers of crude from the Arab OPEC nation.
Iraq, OPEC second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, netted nearly $97 billion in crude export earnings last year at an average production of around 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd), the Finance Ministry said in a recent report.
Figures published by Shafaq News and other Iraqi outlets this week showed the value of hydrocarbon exports to China totaled around $38 billion in 2024, nearly 40 percent of Iraq’s total oil export value last year.
The value of oil sales to India stood at around $29 billion last year, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the Arab country’s total oil sales.
A breakdown showed exports to China last year included mostly crude, with a value of about $37 billion, in addition to $one billion worth of petroleum products
Exports to India recorded a 15 percent annual growth over the past four years and they accounted for more than 20 percent of the Asian country’s total oil imports.
In a recent report, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the volume of the country’s oil exports totaled around 1.2 billion barrels last year, an average 3.3 million bpd.
“China and India were by far the largest buyers of Iraqi oil last year, followed by US companies,” the Ministry said, adding that nearly 70 percent of Iraq’s oil exports were destined to Asia, mainly China and India.
Iraq sits atop the world’s fifth largest recoverable oil resources, estimated at 145 billion barrels. Baghdad expects oilfield development projects to boost those reserves to more than 160 billion barrels within a few years.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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