Iraq’s oil wealth put at $15trln

Iraq’s oil wealth put at $15trln

OPEC member Iraq controls oil and gas resources worth at least $15 trillion and they could increase due to ongoing development projects, an Iraqi official has said. Iraq, OPEC’s second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, ranks ninth among the countries having the largest natural wealth, said Mudher Saleh, financial adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani. “Iraq ranks ninth in the world in terms of the value of natural resources…the market value of the country’s oil, gas and other natural resources exceed $15 trillion,” Saleh told the official Iraqi news agency in comments published on Sunday. He said the hydrocarbon wealth is expected to grow due to ongoing projects to develop oil and gas fields and exploration operations in new areas. Saleh noted that Russia controls the world’s largest natural wealth of around $75 trillion followed by the US at nearly $45 trillion. Iraq’s controls the world’s fifth largest extractable crude oil deposits of around 145 billion barrels while its gas wealth is officially estimated at 6.5 trillion cubic metres. (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) ( [email protected] )