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Iraqi oil reserves estimated at 143B barrels
By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* New estimates could add trillions to Iraqi economy
* Reserves could total 143.1 billion barrels

(CNN) -- Iraq's estimated oil reserves have grown by nearly 25 percent, the oil ministry announced Monday.

"Iraq's oil reserves which are extractable are 143.1 billion barrels," said Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraq's oil minister, based on data provided by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The OPEC figures are about 28 billion barrels higher than previous estimates.

At $81 a barrel, about what oil was trading at early Monday, the added reserves would be worth about $2.27 trillion.

About 70 percent of all reserves are concentrated in Iraq's southern oil fields, with 20 percent in the north and 9 percent in the country's center.