With no oil liftings at the loading terminal of Ceyhan, Iraq’s
oil exports under the United Nations oil-for-food programme totalled 10.3
million barrels in the week ending 22 February, registering a further fall
from the previous week’s total of 10.6 million barrels. The week’s
exports, which netted an estimated €220 million (euros) or $195 million in
revenue, at current prices and rate of exchange, were completed through six
loadings at Mina al-Bakr terminal. The average price of Iraqi crude oil was
approximately €21.60 or $18.85 per barrel.
The United Nations oil overseers approved three new oil
purchase contracts during the week, raising the total number of such contracts
in current phase XI of the programme to 127, covering 305 million barrels of
oil, of which 173 million barrels are for Basrah Light and 132 million barrels
for Kirkuk crude. So far in phase XI, which ends on 29 May 2002, 124.4 million
barrels of oil have been lifted, for an estimated revenue of €2.27 billion
or $1.99 billion.
Some $38.6 billion and €14.9
billion ($13 billion) in estimated revenue has been generated from the export
of over 2.9 billion barrels of oil since the beginning
of the programme on 10 December 1996. With the adoption of Security
Council resolution 1330 (2000) on 5 December 2000, 72 per cent of the oil
proceeds fund the humanitarian programme in Iraq, 59 per cent of which is for
the 15 central and southern governorates and 13 per cent for the three
northern governorates.
At the same time, humanitarian supply contracts worth some
$32.1 billion have been both approved by the Security Council’s 661
sanctions committee and “fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq Programme
(OIP), including $2.9 billion worth of contracts for oil industry spare parts
and equipment. To date, $19.5 billion worth of humanitarian supplies and
equipment have been delivered to Iraq, including $1.2 billion worth of oil
industry equipment, while another $10.9 billion worth of humanitarian supplies
and $1.7 billion worth of oil industry equipment are in the production and
delivery pipeline.
During the week, the Committee released from hold 10
contracts, worth $45 million and placed on hold 19 new contracts, worth $23
million, bringing the total value of contracts on hold for the purchase of
various humanitarian supplies and equipment to $5.3 billion, covering 2,099
contracts. The “holds” comprise 1,444 contracts, worth $4.6 billion, for
humanitarian supplies and 655 contracts, worth $705 million, for oil industry
spare parts and equipment.
In the category of “inactive holds”, there were 254
contracts, worth $498 million, for which the suppliers had not provided the
additional technical information requested by the “holding” Committee
member(s) in over 60 days. However, in the category of “active holds”,
there were also 647 contracts, worth more about $1.89 billion, for which
although the suppliers had provided the requested information over 60 days
ago, the “holding” Committee member(s) had not yet made a final decision.
As at 22 February 2002, over $1.9 billion and €264 million
in unused funds were available in the United Nations Iraq Account for the
issuance of additional letters of credit for the purchase of humanitarian
supplies and oil spare parts and equipment by the Government of Iraq.
