WASHINGTON — Iraq is expected to benefit from sharply increased energy revenues.

The U.S. Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said oil revenues would represent more than 80 percent of Iraq's $48 billion budget in 2008.

The office said average oil production has reached a post-Saddam era high of 2.38 million barrels per day.

"The government of Iraq must assert ever greater responsibility for national security and economic planning, including the full funding and sustainment of ongoing relief and reconstruction efforts," Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general, said.

The Baghdad government has based its revenue estimates on an average oil price of $57 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Department has forecast an $85 a barrel average in 2008.

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