Iraqi oil exports under the United Nations oil-for-food
programme were down to 13.9 million barrels in the week leading to 10 August,
from the previous week’s total of 17 million barrels. Revenue generated from
the week’s exports was an estimated €296 million (euros) or $265 million
at current prices and rate of exchange. There were a total of ten crude oil
loadings from the two authorized terminals - four from Mina al-Bakr with 7.3
million barrels and six from Ceyhan, with 6.6 million barrels. The average
price of Iraqi crude oil during the week was approximately €25.80 or $22.77
per barrel.
In the course of the week, the United Nations oil overseers
approved six new oil purchase contracts for 12 million barrels of Basrah Light
and five million barrels of Kirkuk crude. In current phase X of the programme,
which is in effect from 4 July to 30 November 2001, there are 78 approved oil
purchase contracts, amounting to 247
million
barrels of oil, 155 million of which are for Basrah
Light and 92 million for Kirkuk. Thus far into the phase, Iraq has
exported 65.6 million barrels of oil, for an estimated revenue of €1.56
billion or $1.39 billion, at current prices and rate of exchange.
Since the beginning of the programme on 10 December 1996,
Iraqi oil exports of over 2.56 billion barrels have raised an estimated
revenue of some $38.6 billion and
€8.2 billion
(or about $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.
The Security Council’s 661 sanctions committee released
from hold 15 contracts worth $77.5 million, including five high-value
contracts in the telecommunications sector worth $67.8 million. However, 51
new contracts worth $208.7 million were placed on hold by the Committee,
raising the total value of contracts on hold by the end of the week to $3.5
billion. Altogether, 1,450 contracts are on hold, of which 988 worth over $3
billion are for humanitarian supplies and 462 contracts worth $462 million for
oil industry spare parts and equipment. The newly placed “holds” include a
large number of trucks and various types of vehicles.
Since the start of the programme, humanitarian supply
contracts valued at $25.2 billion and over $2 billion worth of contracts for
oil industry spare parts and equipment have been approved by the 661 Committee
and “fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP). Of these,
more than $13.9 billion worth of humanitarian supplies and $834 million worth
of oil industry spare parts and equipment have been delivered to Iraq. Another
$12.5 billion worth of supplies, including $1.2 billion worth of oil spare
parts and equipment, are in the production and delivery pipeline.
As at 10 August, over $1.7 billion and €776 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.
