Iraq's revenues from crude oil sales were $5.55 billion in August, 20.6% less than what Baghdad earned in the previous month because of a drop in world oil prices, an Iraqi Oil Ministry statement said Sunday.
Iraq's crude oil exports in August slipped 8% to 1.75 million barrels a day from 1.89 million barrels a day in July, according to the ministry statement.
Iraq sold in August the barrel of its crude oil at an average price of $102.04, while the average was $113.8 a barrel in July, the ministry said in the statement.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose sharply to above $104.55 Friday after dropping to about $90 a barrel on Sept. 16. Crude prices are still down more than 30% since hitting a record high of $147 a barrel in July.
Iraq's total oil revenues during the first eight months of 2008 reached $47.87 billion, the ministry said in the statement obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.
In August, Iraq exported a total of 44.9 million barrels from its southern oil terminals, while some 9.5 million barrels were exported from northern oil fields, the ministry added.
The statement, however, didn't state why Iraq's crude oil exports dropped in August. Independent sources said the decline in August's exports was caused by bad weather in southern Iraqi export terminals and a shortage of crude oil production.
Some 20 international oil companies bought Iraqi crude oil in August, the ministry said in the statement.