Sunday, November 12, 2006
400,000 barrels of oil lost per day to violence
Oil
Oil exports from southern terminals are to increase by 200,000 barrels by the end of the year, the Oil Ministry says. Assem Jihand, the ministry’s information officer, said the boost will bring exports close to pre-war levels. The southern terminals are almost Iraq’s sole export outlets where approximately 1.7 million barrels are shipped a day.
However, oil analysts depict a gloomy picture of the industry, saying factional fighting and strife in southern Iraq may bring the exports to a halt. Exports from the south are Iraq’s only source of hard cash and any suspension would deal a heavy blow to the country’s battered economy. The analysts say Iraq currently is losing 300,000 – 400,000 barrels of exports a day due to violence. As sectarian and factional strife mounts, there are fears that the factions’ next battles might center on control of oil fields and export installations.
Government troops have failed in efforts to control pipelines and pumping stations to secure shipments to international oil markets from the northern oil fields. Kurdish militias and government troops have yet to exert control over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In southern Iraq, militias are wrestling for control and influence of the Southern Oil Company and its staff. The government is even not in full control in Basra, where some of Iraq’s most prolific oil fields are situated. Militia groups whose leaders are occasionally referred to as ‘oil warlords’ are said to have infiltrated the Southern Oil Company whose workers and staff openly brag about their factional allegiance.
However, oil analysts depict a gloomy picture of the industry, saying factional fighting and strife in southern Iraq may bring the exports to a halt. Exports from the south are Iraq’s only source of hard cash and any suspension would deal a heavy blow to the country’s battered economy. The analysts say Iraq currently is losing 300,000 – 400,000 barrels of exports a day due to violence. As sectarian and factional strife mounts, there are fears that the factions’ next battles might center on control of oil fields and export installations.
Government troops have failed in efforts to control pipelines and pumping stations to secure shipments to international oil markets from the northern oil fields. Kurdish militias and government troops have yet to exert control over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In southern Iraq, militias are wrestling for control and influence of the Southern Oil Company and its staff. The government is even not in full control in Basra, where some of Iraq’s most prolific oil fields are situated. Militia groups whose leaders are occasionally referred to as ‘oil warlords’ are said to have infiltrated the Southern Oil Company whose workers and staff openly brag about their factional allegiance.
