Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar expected oil prices to reach $100 per barrel in the first and second quarters of 2022 with global stockpiles dropping to their lowest levels.
According to Arabiya Net, the minister added that OPEC + opposes oil prices exceeding acceptable levels and is studying ways to balance the market.
In a speech to reporters in Baghdad, he said that the price of oil between $75 and $85 is an acceptable level for the price of crude in the long term.
He added that at the same time, OPEC+ opposes any increase in global oil stocks, because this would lead to the collapse of oil markets.
He stated that the Iraqi government's budget for 2022 should be based on an oil price ranging between $55 and $60 a barrel, expecting an average export of 3.4 million barrels per day in October. / October, including from the Kurdistan region in the north.
US crude prices fell from their highest level in seven years, after an industry report indicated a further increase in US crude stocks.
The US West Texas Intermediate crude futures contracts were traded, today, Wednesday, in New York, below $83 a barrel, after rising more than 3% during the past four sessions, The international benchmark Brent crude contracts also fell below $ 85.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude stocks rose 3.29 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data. This will be the fourth weekly increase if confirmed by official government data later today.
US oil rose in recent days to its highest level since 2014, as the energy crisis coincided with a recovery in demand from economies recovering from the epidemic. Events indicate that Russia will not do its best to provide additional natural gas to Europe to ease the current crisis, unless it obtains regulatory approval to start shipments through the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
