伊拉克5月原油销量大幅下滑但收入小幅上升

据能源世界网6月2日巴格达报道，伊拉克石油部周一宣布，该国5月份的原油销量不足1亿桶，但随着油价回升，该国5月份的收入超过了前一个月。

欧佩克(OPEC)的第二大原油生产国最近受到全球油价暴跌和来自沙特阿拉伯的大量廉价原油的冲击。

今年5月，伊拉克以平均每桶21美元的价格出售了9950万桶原油，当月获利20.9亿美元。4月，卖出了更多的石油，销量为1.031亿桶，但每桶以13.80美元的创纪录最低均价只带来了14亿美元的收入。

据专家警告说，即使价格回升，近几个月来买家仍在购买廉价石油，因此不需要像夏季开始那样购买大量原油。

欧佩克今年4月同意在5月和6月减产，以试图提振油价，而伊拉克将不得不在这两个月里每天减产100万桶左右。

低收入对伊拉克来说是灾难性的，伊拉克依靠石油销售为其预算提供90％以上的资金。

每个月，其需要大约45亿美元来支付工资、养老金、福利发放和其他政府开支。政府是该国最大的雇主，其工资表至少有400万人，另有400万人领取养老金或社会福利。

作为削减开支努力的一部分，该国内阁本周宣布，正在考虑削减高级公务员的总收入。高级官员告诉法新社，已经决定内部借款来支付4月份的工资。

他们表示，政府正在考虑承担更多的内部和外部债务，印制货币，减少外汇储备，并要求国际货币基金组织和世界银行提供预算支持。

伊拉克已经要求生产石油的国际石油公司削减开支，这些开支由伊拉克政府按季度偿还。

郝芬 译自 能源世界网

原文如下：

Iraq crude sales slump in May, but revenues inch up

Iraq sold fewer than 100 million barrels of crude in May, its oil ministry announced Monday, but recovering prices saw it rake in more revenues than the previous month.

The OPEC cartel's second-biggest crude producer has been left reeling by the recent worldwide crash in oil prices and a flood of cheap crude from Saudi Arabia.

In May, Iraq sold 99.5 million barrels of crude oil at an average price of $21, earning $2.09 billion for the month.

In April, it had sold more barrels -- 103.1 million -- but the record-low average price of $13.80 per barrel earned it just $1.4 billion.

Experts had warned that even if prices recovered, buyers had been stocking up on inexpensive oil in recent months and would not need to buy as much crude as summer began.

OPEC agreed in April to introduce production cuts in May and June to try to revive prices, and Iraq will have to cut around one million barrels a day for both months.

Low revenues have been catastrophic for Iraq, which relies on oil sales to fund more than 90 percent of its budget.

Each month, it needs about $4.5 billion to pay salaries, pensions, welfare handouts and other government expenses.

The government is the country's biggest employer, with at least four million people on its payroll and another four million who receive pensions or social benefits.

As part of its efforts to slash expenses, the cabinet announced this week that it was exploring cuts to the gross incomes of senior-grade public employees.

It had already decided to borrow internally to cover salaries for the month of April, senior officials told AFP.

They said the government was considering taking on more internal and external debt, printing currency, drawing down foreign reserves and requesting budget support from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Iraq had already asked the international oil companies which produce its oil to cut down on their expenses, which are reimbursed quarterly by the Iraqi government.