The
issuance of letters of credit for the purchase of Iraqi oil in euro
denomination came into effect on 7 November 2000
There
were eight loadings at Mina al-Bakr and Ceyhan oil terminals in the week
leading to 10 November, earning Iraq $299 million from the export of 10.6
million barrels of oil under the oil-for-food programme. In current phase VIII
Iraq has exported 326.6 million barrels of oil for an estimated revenue of
over $8.4 billion. Phase VIII ends on 5 December 2000.
The
United Nations oil overseers and the Security Council’s 661 sanctions
committee for Iraq last week approved one new contract for a Spanish company
to purchase 1.5 million barrels of Kirkuk crude destined for the European
market.
To
date the Committee has approved 116 contracts for the sale of Iraqi oil under
phase VIII with a volume of over 436 million barrels (259.4 million Basrah
Light and 176.6 million Kirkuk). Iraq’s
total oil exports since the start of the programme on 10 December 1996 now
stand at over 2,157 million barrels, for an estimated revenue of more than
$37.4 billion.
Also, the
Committee in phases IV to VIII has approved almost $9 billion worth of
contracts for humanitarian supplies, while another $2.7 billion worth have
been processed by the Office of the Iraq Progoramme (OIP) since March of this
year under “fast track” procedures based on pre-approved lists of
supplies. For the purchase of oil industry spare parts and equipment the
Committee has approved 2,272 contracts worth $1.21 billion. Additional 69
contracts worth over $52 million have been approved under the “fast track”
procedures.
About
$2.26 billion worth of contracts were “on hold” status as at 10 November
($1.95 billion for humanitarian supplies and almost $310 million for oil
industry spare parts and equipment) or 13.8 per cent of all circulated
contracts. The
Committee members often cite the lack of technical specifications and
potential dual use as reasons for placing a contract on hold.
The
Committee released 10 contracts from hold worth $137.2 million, following the
provision of technical specifications by the suppliers and the deletion of
certain “dual use” items. These included a single contract in the
electricity sector worth $98.4 million for gas turbine equipment, as well as
contracts for pick up trucks, pipes, pumps and transformers. The Committee
also placed 41 new contracts on hold worth $73.6 million, including contracts
for an irrigation system, fuel tankers, chemical laboratory, trailers and
fiber optic cable.
