The
holds on twelve contracts in the agriculture and housing sectors were lifted
this week. The
contracts involved the purchase by Iraq under the terms of the oil-for-food
programme of water tankers for use in irrigation and housing materials
including iron bars and hot rolled sheets.
Their combined value was $18.9 million dollars.
The contracts had
been put on hold in July pending further technical information which was
provided during the first part of August.
In
the week to 15 September, the Committee approved an additional 73 contracts
for the humanitarian programme in Iraq. Altogether, in phases IV to VIII, the
Committee has now approved just over $7.98 billion worth of contracts for
humanitarian supplies and put contracts worth $1.7 billion on hold (centre/south
of Iraq only).
In the oil sector the Committee has approved 2,129 contracts worth over
$1.107 billion and put 503, worth $266 million, on hold.
The
total value of contracts on hold in all sectors is now $1.974 billion.
Using
the "fast track" process, based on approved lists in the food,
health, water/sanitation, education and agriculture sectors, OIP has now
"notified" the Security Council’s 661Committee of 762 humanitarian
supply contracts worth more than $1.792 billion.
Similarly, in the oil industry spare parts and equipment sector, the UN
group of experts has approved 46 contracts worth almost $34 million.
The
volume of Iraq’s oil exports under the programme during the week to 15
September 2000 was 16.8 million barrels of oil for revenue estimated around
$490 million, bringing the current revenue in phase VIII which began on 9 June
to over $5.1 billion. The
phase ends on 5 December 2000.
Meanwhile,
the Committee approved two new contracts for the sale of Iraqi oil under phase
VIII – one to a Lichtenstein company for 2 million barrels of Basrah Light
for the USA and another to a Turkish company for 1.5 million barrels of Kirkuk
for the European market.
The
total number of approved contracts for the sale of Iraqi oil under phase VIII
now stands at 105 with a volume of over 395 million barrels (235.6 million
Basrah Light and 159.6 million Kirkuk). Since the start of the "oil for
food" programme on 10 December 1996, Iraq has exported more than 2,032
million barrels with a value of over $34.1 billion.
Humanitarian
supplies and equipment for the oil industry continued to arrive normally
through the three land border points and at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.
