Iraq loses 6 to $8bn a year to import oil products

The advisor of the economic studies at the American University of New York, Ali al-Furaiji said that Iraq is losing between 6 to 8 billion dollars annually to import petroleum products from abroad. He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that "Iraq is paid annually 6_8 billion dollars to purchase petroleum products to meet the needs of the country, while crude oil is exported to all countries at low prices," pointing out that, "these amounts, which are paid annually to import oil could be invested in building modern refineries to achieve self-sufficiency." He added that " a country like Iraq is supposed to possess a great potential in the oil industry," asserting that" importing petroleum products is contributing in the depletion of financial resources that come from oil. " He concluded that "the oil industry in Iraq has become a very big problem, which constitutes a major obstacle to the growth and development in the country economically." /End