With
only two liftings, both from the authorized loading terminal of Ceyhan, Iraqi
oil exports plunged from the previous week’s high of 15.3 million barrels to
merely 2.6 million barrels in the week ending 7 June, earning an estimated
€60 million (euros) or $55 million in revenue, at current prices and rate of
exchange. The average price of
Iraqi crude oil during the week was approximately €23.10 or $21.70 per
barrel.
In
current phase XII of the programme, which began on 30 May and will end on 25
November 2002, the total volume of oil exported thus far amounts to 10.9
million barrels, having netted an estimated revenue of €251 million or $237
million. During the week in
review, the United Nations oil overseers approved 12 new oil purchase
contracts, bringing the total to 75. The
corresponding volume of oil amounts to 136 million barrels, of which 72
million barrels are for Basrah Light and 64 million barrels for Kirkuk crude.
The
funding shortfall, that continues to plague the programme, has resulted in 926
humanitarian supply contracts, worth about $2.28 billion, lacking in funds,
although already approved by the United Nations. The affected sectors, in the
order of the value of approved contracts without funds, are food handling with
about $389 million, followed by housing with $350 million, electricity with
$330 million, food with $327 million, communication/transportation with $236
million, agriculture with $234 million, health with $151 million, water and
sanitation with $120 million, education with $99 million and oil spare parts/equpment
with $42 million.
Iraq
has exported more than 3 billion barrels of oil at an estimated $38.6 billion
and €17.8 billion ($15.8 billion) in revenue, since the beginning of the
programme on 10 December 1996. With
72 percent of the oil proceeds allocated to the humanitarian programme, some
$35.3 billion worth of contracts for the purchase of various humanitarian
supplies and equipment have been both approved by the Security Council’s 661
sanctions committee and “fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq Programme
(OIP), including about $3.2 billion worth of oil industry spare parts and
equipment. To date, over $22.6 billion worth of supplies and equipment have
been delivered to Iraq, including $1.4 billion worth oil spare parts and
equipment, while another $10.5 billion worth of supplies and equipment, for
which funds have been available, are in the production and delivery pipeline,
including $1.7 billion worth of oil industry equipment.
During
the week, the 661 Committee released from hold 6 contracts worth $33.4
million, while it placed on hold 31 new contracts worth $47.7 million.
There are currently 2,132 contracts on hold for the purchase of various
humanitarian supplies and equipment, valued at slightly over $5.2 billion.
Of these, 1,452 contracts worth about $4.5 billion are for humanitarian
supplies and 680 contracts worth $738 million are for oil industry spare parts
and equipment.
Paragraph 18 of the new set of procedures
for the processing and review of contracts for humanitarian supplies and
equipment under Security Council resolution 1409 (2002) requires that
contracts currently on hold be divided into two categories.
The first category would comprise contracts that contain “dual use”
item(s), as determined by the United Nations Secretariat experts, which will
be returned to the submitting Mission or United Nations agency for possible
re-submission under the new procedures. The
second category would include all other contracts currently on hold and will
be re-circulated by OIP under the new procedures.
It is foreseen that upon the completion of these processes, there will
no longer be contracts on hold.
