Iraq ... planning to settle arrears
Iraq plans to pay arrears owed to oil companies by end of 2016
BAGHDAD, June 13, 2016
Iraq plans to settle all arrears owed to foreign oil companies by the end of the year, as provided by an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, said Mudher Salih, an advisor on financial policy to Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.
The decision is among measures approved last week by the government to secure $5.4 billion in loans over three years from the IMF, Salih said in an interview in Baghdad.
He didn't disclose the outstanding amount, but it was estimated last year at several billion dollars.
The Opec nation sought budget support from the international community after a collapse in oil prices two years ago caused its revenue to drop, widening a public deficit and delaying payments to foreign oil producers. -- Reuters
