Iraq decides to freeze oil prepayments deal on rising oil prices

OPEC member Iraq was seeking a five-year prepayment starting January 2021 until December 2025 to be repaid with cargoes of its Basra crude, according to a letter sent by state oil marketer SOMO to its customers and seen by Reuters. (File pic shows an Iraqi oil field)

BAGHDAD: Iraq has decided to freeze its first crude oil prepayment deal, which had aimed to boost its finances, because oil prices are rising, the country's oil minister told BBC Arabic on Sunday.

"We had concerns that oil prices would not rise above $40 when we announced this deal for the first time in the history of Iraq," Iraq's Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told the channel.