Iraq stares into revenue abyss

Plummeting oil prices and stagnant production have thrown government finances into chaos

The steep drop in global oil prices has plunged Iraq into a budgetary crisis. Iraqi oil minister Thamir Ghadhban appealed to Opec secretary general Mohammed Barkindo in mid-March for an emergency meeting to address the situation, with oil having slid to lows not seen since before the US invasion of Iraq nearly 17 years ago. Saudi Arabia’s decision earlier in the month to launch a price war—just as the coronavirus pandemic was causing demand to collapse—is wreaking financial havoc on producers worldwide. The Saudis abandoned the Opec+ output cuts, in place for some three years, as a result of Russian refusal to sign up to deeper curbs. The depressive effect of Covid-19 was already throwing B