BASRA, Iraq/ DUBAI - Iraq has asked all international oil companies to cut their budgets by 30% due to the steep slide in oil prices but said the cuts should not affect crude output, a senior Iraqi oil official told Reuters.
A source at one of the foreign oil companies said: "We have received the letter on 30% budget cuts, no decision yet."
ExxonMobil in Iraq, which is the main developer of West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq, has also asked all its suppliers to reduce costs, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
(Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Edmund Blair) ((rania.elgamal@thomsonreuters.com; +971 562 160 434; Reuters Messaging: rania.elgamal.reuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rania_ElGamal))
