Compounding crises: Iraq’s oil and energy economy

Iraq is no stranger to oil price volatility or economic and political crisis. The country has faced the oil price crash of 2014, fought a costly, two-year war against ISIS, suffered growing electricity shortages, security threats, protests, (inter) party-political fragmentation and severe economic and financial constraints. Despite these multiple, concurrent hurdles, oil production has nearly doubled over the last decade.

In this light, what makes this year’s oil crisis so unique for Iraq?

This Comment provides a forensic examination of the key challenges facing Iraq’s oil and energy economy and how these issues are set to interact with oil and energy policy decision-making.

The Comment considers the operational challenges of OPEC+ cuts, the negative cycle of lower oil prices on the country’s economy and the long-term implications of the crisis on the country’s oil and gas sector.

By: Ahmed Mehdi , Ali Al-Saffar