Iraq's 2009 budget is facing a serious shortfall with oil prices hovering at around half the government's expected level, the country's envoy to the U.S. said Tuesday.
Ambassador Samir Shakir Sumaida'ie, speaking at a National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations seminar in Washington, said the country based its original 2009 budget on crude oil selling at $80 a barrel, but oil prices have been hovering around $40-$50 a barrel.
Last month, according to the Associated Press, the Iraqi government adopted a revised 2009 budget of $68.6 billion, based on an oil price of $62.50 per barrel. The AP said the original budget for next year was $79 billion.
Sumaida'ie said the country's developing hydrocarbon law - which international oil companies such as Chevron (CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) are awaiting to move ahead with serious investments and contracts - would likely be resolved in a package of policy agreements, rather than as an isolated deal.