The current news from Iraq is most alarming, seeing the political instability and the country now having the humanitarian crisis brought on the  militant insurgency coming from the Syrian border. With its rich culture and history, it is a tragedy to see the suffering brought on by the sectarian division in the country.

Today Iraq’s economy is based on oil. But what is the value of this crude oil ?
Iraq produces 3,115,000 barrels of oil a day, and with the political problems this level of production will fall.

3,115,000 barrels of oil is about 3% of total world oil production per day.

With oil at $113.18 per barrel:
Iraq’s daily value of oil production is:

3,115,000  x US$113.18 = $352,555,700 = £207,663,000

That is £207 million a day.

With that level of oil revenue, Iraq should be an extremely wealthy country, but with the turmoil on these lands, the outlook for Iraq in the short term looks very uncertain