Iraq oil exports and revenue down in February

Iraq's oil exports and revenue dipped in February compared with the previous month as low global crude prices offered Baghdad no financial respite, a statement said on Tuesday.

Iraq's federal government exported a total of 93,536,000 barrels of crude last month, which amounts to a lower daily average than January, the oil ministry said.

Revenue slipped only slightly to "over $2.2 billion", with the barrel averaging a price of more than $23 dollars in February, up slightly from the previous month, it said.

The 2016 budget agreed by the Iraqi government, which is heavily reliant on oil income, is based on a per-barrel price of $45.

Revenue is further slashed by the fact that the autonomous Kurdistan region has in recent months been independently exporting oil from Kirkuk, a disputed province that is largely held by Kurdish forces but is also claimed by Baghdad.

The Kurdistan region's government announced last month it had made close to $4 billion from independent sales over the second half of 2015.

Baghdad faces a huge budget crunch, with the massive cost of running the war against the Islamic State group and sustained public pressure to deliver better services.