Export earnings in April were about $1.5B lower than previous month

Iraq's revenues from oil exports fell by over 50% in April due to the drastic drop in global oil prices, authorities said on Saturday.

Baghdad exported over 103 million barrels of crude oil in April, generating approximately $1.42 billion at an average of $14 per barrel, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in a statement.

The revenue was less than half of the $2.96 billion earned in March through the export of 105 million barrels of crude oil at an average of $28 per barrel.

Global oil prices have crashed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as reduced transportation and slowed industrial activity has brought about a sharp fall in demand.

On April 12, Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia-led non-OPEC oil producing nations agreed to lower their collective crude production by 9.7 million barrels per day starting from May 1.

However, the 23-nation group, known as OPEC+, did not provide any output cut for the month of April.