Iraq’s cabinet is preparing to debate the government’s 2012 budget before the end of the year with a total of more than $100bn being proposed.

The cabinet has begun to draft a preliminary budget proposal based on oil-price projections of between $80-90 a barrel, according a 30 November report by the US’ Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).

Should the cabinet, known as the Council of Representatives approve a final budget law resembling the initial drafts, it would be significantly larger than this year’s $82.6bn budget, $72.4bn in 2010 and $58.6bn in 2009 (MEED 22:2:11).

The government estimated that 89 per cent of its of 2011 revenue would come from oil exports, which now stands at $62.4bn after nine months, compared with $52.2bn in the whole of 2010.

Up to the end of September, the government received an average of $102.83 a barrel, well above the $76.5 a barrel price used to project 2011 revenues. Oil production since March has averaged just under 2.6 million barrels a day (b/d) and exports at 2.1 million b/d.

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) receives 17 per cent of the annual government budget to fund its operations, including the payment of salaries and provision of services. The figure is based on UN estimates made in the early 1990s of the region’s population.