On 1 August, the Secretary-General approved the distribution
plan, submitted by the Government of Iraq, for the current phase X of the
programme. The phase is in effect
from 4 July to 30 November. The
plan projects a budget of $5.5 billion for the humanitarian programme, divided
between 12 sectors countrywide, including an allocation of $600 million for
oil industry spare parts and equipment and $384 million to meet the needs of
especially vulnerable groups. Over
$1.27 billion is earmarked for the food sector, while $250 million is set
aside for the purchase of medicines and medical supplies.
In
the week leading to 3 August, Iraq exported 17 million barrels of oil, at the
average rate of 2.4 million barrels per day.
The exports generated an estimated €404 million (euros) or $356
million in revenue at current prices and rate of exchange.
Of the total nine loadings, six were from Mina al-Bakr terminal, with
11 million barrels of oil and three from Ceyhan, with 6 million barrels.
The average price of Iraqi crude oil during the week was approximately
€25 or $21.96 per barrel.
Four new oil purchase contracts
were approved by the United Nations oil overseers for five million barrels of
Basrah Light and four million barrels of Kirkuk crude.
In phase X of the programme, there are 69 approved oil contracts,
amounting to 236 million
barrels of oil, 152 million of which are for Basrah
Light and 84 million for Kirkuk. Iraq
has exported 51.7 million barrels of oil, so far into phase X, for an
estimated revenue of €1.24 billion or $1.1 billion, at current prices and
rate of exchange.
Since the beginning of the
programme on 10 December 1996, Iraqi oil exports of over 2.55 billion barrels
have raised an estimated revenue of some $38.6 billion and €7.9
billion (or $6.7 billion at current prices and rate of exchange).
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 of Iraq.
There
was a drop in the total value of contracts placed on hold by the Security
Council’s 661 sanctions committee, with the release from hold of 78
contracts worth $265 million.
At the end of the week, the value of “holds” stood at $3.378
billion, compared with the previous week’s total of $3.5 billion. Two
large-value “released” contracts, one worth $75.6 million for gas turbines
in the electricity sector and another worth $59.2 million for 1,000 water
tankers, contributed to this.
Concurrently, 51 new contracts worth $127 million were placed on hold
by the Committee.
In all, 1,418 contracts are on hold, of which 969 worth over $2.9
billion are for humanitarian supplies and 449 contracts worth $434 million for
oil industry spare parts and equipment.
Water and sanitation, electricity and education have the highest volume
of contracts on hold in their respective sectors.
Since the start of the programme, $24.8 billion worth of
contracts for humanitarian supplies and over $2 billion worth of contracts for
oil industry spare parts and equipment have been approved by the Committee and
“fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP).
Of these, more than $13.7 billion worth of humanitarian supplies and
$807 million worth of oil industry spare parts and equipment have been
delivered to Iraq. Another $11.1
billion worth of supplies, including $1.2 billion worth of oil spare parts and
equipment, are in the production and delivery pipeline.
As at 3 August, $1.8
billion and €977 million in unused funds were available in the United
Nations escrow 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.
