Energy policy of Iraq describes the politics of Iraq

Politics of Iraq

The politics of Iraq takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and...

 related to energy. Energy in Iraq

Energy in Iraq

Energy in Iraq describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Iraq. Energy policy of Iraq will describe the politics of Iraq related to energy more in detail. Electricity sector in Iraq is the main article of electricity in Iraq....

 describes the energy

World energy resources and consumption

]World energy consumption in 2010: over 5% growthEnergy markets have combined crisis recovery and strong industry dynamism. Energy consumption in the G20 soared by more than 5% in 2010, after the slight decrease of 2009. This strong increase is the result of two converging trends...

 and electricity

Electricity generation

Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...

 production, consumption and import in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. Electricity sector in Iraq is the main article of electricity in Iraq.

Oil revenues are the major income in the economy of Iraq

Economy of Iraq

Iraq's economy is dominated by the petroleum sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement...

.

Based on data from BP

BP

BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

 at the end of 2009 the highest proved oil reserves

Oil reserves

The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...

 including the non-conventional oil deposits are in 1) Saudi Arabia

Energy in Saudi Arabia

Energy in Saudi Arabia describes energy and electricity production, consumption and export in Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest energy producers, pumping approximately of petroleum...

 (18 per cent of global reserves) 2) Canada (12 %, mostly oil sands) 3) Venezuela

Energy in Venezuela

Energy in Venezuela describes energy and electricity production, consumption and export from Venezuela. Energy policy of Venezuela describes the the energy policy in the politics of Venezuela more in detail...

 (12 %, mostly tar sands

Tar sands

Bituminous sands, colloquially known as oil sands or tar sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The sands contain naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water, and a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen...

) 4) Iran

Energy in Iran

Energy resources in Iran consist of the third largest oil reserves and the second largest natural gas reserves in the world. Iran is in a constant battle to use its energy resources more effectively in the face of subsidization and the need for technological advances in energy exploration and...

 (9 %) and 5) Iraq (8 %)

Oil prices

Iraq is a member of OPEC

OPEC

OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...

.

The global oil and gas prices have been strongly influenced by political decisions and events. For example, the oil embargo 1967

1967 Oil Embargo

The 1967 Oil Embargo began on June 6, 1967, one day after the beginning of the Six-Day War, with a joint Arab decision to deter any countries from supporting Israel militarily. Several Middle Eastern countries eventually limited their oil shipments, some embargoing only the United States and the...

 and 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

 during the 1970s, the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the Iraq-Kuwait War

Invasion of Kuwait

The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...

 in the 1990s and the Iraq War from 2003.

Corruption risks

One of the corruption risks is that the oil resources are publicly owned but often privately produced. The complex system of licenses and fees may drive corruption incentives. According to Transparency International

Transparency International

Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide...

 Bribe Payers Index 2008, the oil and gas industry in general is highly vulnerable to 1) bribery

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

 of public officials and 2) undue influence on the legislative process and government polices. IMF Working Paper confirms the relationship between oil rents and corruption

Corruption

Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...

. Higher increases in oil rents tends to increase corruption and erode political rights. Open Budget Survey 2008 by International Budget Partnership confirmed that the oil- and gas-dependent countries tend to be less transparent.