Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Samuel Osborne

Isis earns $50m a month from oil sales

Isis reportedly earns up to $50 million (£32.6 million) each month from oil sales, allowing the group to maintain its rule over their self-declared caliphate stretching across large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Oil sales are thought to account for the group's largest financial source, allowing it to rebuild infrastructure and continue funding their fighters and military endeavours, according to the International Business Times.

Isis sells crude oil to smugglers at prices between $10 and $35 per barrel, undercutting the international price of around $50 per barrel.

The smugglers then sell the oil to middlemen in Turkey.

Turkey's prime minister's office issued a statement saying it had taken measures to strengthen border security.

Its security forces had stopped 3,319 cases of smuggling from Syria as of the end of September, the statement said.

Iraqi officials also said some oil was smuggled into Kurdish areas of Iraq, though a member of the Iraqi Kurdish parliament denied this.

Isis is believed to extract around 30,000 barrels a day in Syria and around 10,000 to 20,000 barrels per day in Iraq.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.