Latest news with #oilrevenues
Zawya
13-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Oil funds for ‘Big Push' will be efficiently used, Mahama tells Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC)
President John Dramani Mahama has assured members of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) that oil revenues earmarked for his proposed $10 billion 'Big Push' infrastructure initiative will be efficiently disbursed and managed. The President gave the assurance during a courtesy call by the PIAC members. Led by its Chairman, Mr Constantine K.M. Kudzedzi, the Committee members visited to congratulate the President on his recent election victory and discuss matters concerning the management of Ghana's oil revenues. President Mahama outlined his government's ambitious plan to invest $10 billion over the next five years, allocating $2 billion annually, into priority infrastructure projects across the country. These projects will target key sectors, including roads, major bridges, education, and health infrastructure, as well as areas vital for boosting productivity in the agriculture sector. He specified that agricultural projects under the 'Big Push' would encompass irrigation schemes, construction of farmer service centres, and support for agribusiness development. The President stated that the primary sources of funding for this significant policy initiative would be petroleum revenue and minerals royalties. Commending PIAC for its vital role, President Mahama praised the Committee's efforts in monitoring and ensuring transparency and accountability in the utilisation of Ghana's petroleum revenues. He highlighted PIAC as a commendable model for other countries seeking effective oversight mechanisms. President Mahama inaugurates committee for UGMC transfer to University of Ghana. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
Reuters
07-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Libya's oil revenues at $9.4 billion in H1 2025, central bank says
DUBAI, July 7 (Reuters) - Libya's oil revenues have reached 51.1 billion Libyan dinars ($9.43 billion) in the first half of 2025, the central bank said on Monday. ($1 = 5.4200 Libyan dinars)
Gulf Business
16-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
GCC public spending projected to hit $542bn in 2025
Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes Total public spending by the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is expected to reach $542.1bn in the 2025 financial year, according to data released by the GCC Statistical Center ( According to a report published by the state news agency, WAM , the six member states — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain — have largely projected higher public expenditures compared to 2024, directing increased funds toward infrastructure completion and targeted economic sector growth in line with long-term development strategies. GCC-Stat data shows that government revenues across the bloc are forecast to remain relatively stable in 2025, supported by expectations that global oil prices will remain at moderate to high levels throughout the year. Total public revenues for the GCC countries are estimated at $487.8bn, resulting in a combined budget deficit of $54.3bn for the year, the WAM report stated. Read: Oil revenues: Major part of GCC government income Oil revenues remain the largest component of government income in the region, making fiscal positions highly sensitive to global oil price fluctuations. To mitigate risk, GCC countries adopt a conservative methodology when calculating break-even oil prices in their budget frameworks, aiming to buffer against volatility in the international energy markets. To bridge the fiscal gap, GCC countries plan to rely on a mix of financial reserves and both domestic and international borrowing
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-06-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Urges Baghdad, Erbil to Carry Out ‘Constructive Dialogue'
The United States has urged Baghdad and Erbil 'to resolve their issues through constructive dialogue consistent with their constitutional responsibilities' after rising tension over the payment of salaries in the Kurdistan region. Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. 'Resolving the salaries issue quickly sends a signal that Iraq is creating an environment in which US companies would want to invest,' US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday. 'Successful resolution would also send a positive signal on broader cooperation for the benefit of all Iraqis, such as reopening the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline and additional energy exploration, including with US companies,' Bruce said. 'US support for a strong and resilient Iraqi Kurdistan Region remains a crucial element of our relationship with Iraq,' she added. Her remarks, which were seen as supportive of Baghdad, came as Sulaymaniyah - a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region – witnessed demonstrations on Wednesday over the delay in the payment of public sector salaries. Employees in several departments announced an open-ended strike, saying they will not return to work unless the authorities pay them their wages. The employees called on Erbil and the Baghdad government to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities, saying their living conditions require action.
Washington Post
09-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Public employees in Iraq's Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
BAGHDAD — Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday . Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. It's the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute between officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973. Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad's favor. Attempts to reach a deal to restart exports have repeatedly stalled. Last month, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government traveled to Washington, where he inked two major energy deals with U.S. companies. The federal government in Baghdad then sued in an Iraqi court, asserting that it was illegal for the regional government to make the deals without going through Baghdad. The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced a decision last month to halt funding for salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdish region. The move sparked widespread outrage in Irbil, triggering strong political and public reactions. The ministry said in a statement that the decision was due to the Kurdish regional authorities' 'failure to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, as stipulated in the federal budget laws.' It added that any transfer of funds would be conditional on 'the region's commitment to transparency and financial accountability.' The federal Ministry of Oil accused Irbil of failing to deliver crude oil produced in the region's fields to the ministry for export through the state-run SOMO company, which it said had led to massive financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. The ministry warned that 'continued non-compliance jeopardizes Iraq's international reputation and obligations, forcing the federal government to reduce oil production in other provinces to stay within Iraq's OPEC quota — which includes Iraqi Kurdish production, regardless of its legality.' Baghdad has also accused Irbil of smuggling oil out of the country. An Iraqi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly said the government had tracked 240 cases of illegal border crossings from Iraq's Kurdish region into Iran between Dec. 25, 2024, and May 24, 2025, aimed at smuggling oil derivatives. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement called those allegations 'a smokescreen to distract from widespread corruption and smuggling in other parts of Iraq. The KRG agreed to sell its oil through SOMO, opened an escrow account, and handed over revenues — yet Baghdad failed to meet its financial obligations.' It accused the federal government of being responsible for the halt in oil exports via Turkey due to the lawsuit it filed in 2023 and said the Kurdish region had delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to the Ministry of Oil without receiving any financial compensation. The ministry accused Baghdad of 'violating the constitution and pursuing a deliberate policy of collective punishment and starvation against the people' of the Kurdish region through the halt in funding for salaries. Barzani in a statement on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday described the withholding of salaries as an 'unjust and oppressive decision' and a 'policy of mass starvation' comparable to the chemical attacks and 'genocide' launched by Iraq's former longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein, against the Kurds. The Iraqi Kurdish people 'have resisted with steadfastness and courage in the face of all forms of pressure and tyranny' and 'regret was the fate of the tyrants,' he said. In the meantime, residents of the Kurdish region feel caught in the middle of the yearslong political dispute once again. Saman Ali Salah, a public school teacher from the city of Sulaimaniyah, said the salary cutoff comes at a particularly bad time for him — his daughter was hit by a car 40 days ago and is still in the hospital. He blamed both Baghdad and Irbil for the situation. 'All the money I had was spent on transportation from the house to the hospital and I haven't paid my rent for the past two months,' Salah said. 'I don't know what to do. All I can say is that God will take revenge on these so-called officials on Judgement Day.' ___ Associated Press reporter Salam Salim in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.
