(3-9 August 2002)
With only four loadings, Iraqi oil exports under the United
Nations oil-for-food programme plunged to almost half of the previous week’s
total, standing at 4.4 million barrels in the week ending 9 August. Three
loadings took place from Mina al-Bakr terminal, corresponding to 3.6 million
barrels of oil, and one from Ceyhan terminal, corresponding to 0.8 million
barrels. With an average price of approximately €24 (euros) or $23.35 per
barrel, the week’s exports generated an estimated €104 million or $101
million in revenue, raising the overall estimated revenue in current phase XII
of the programme to €1.7 billion or just under $1.7 billion.
Since the beginning of the current phase, the total volume
of oil exported has amounted to 71.7 million barrels. Phase XII runs from 30
May to 25 November 2002. The United Nations oil overseers approved an
additional four new oil purchase contracts during the week, bringing the
overall total to 146, corresponding to 327 million barrels of oil, of which
185 million barrels are for Basrah light and 142 million barrels for Kirkuk
crude.
Owing to the cumulative revenue shortfall, currently 1,156
humanitarian supply contracts, worth about $2.4 billion, while approved by the
United Nations, are lacking in available funds. The affected sectors are:
electricity with $386 million; food with $375 million; agriculture with $350
million; food handling with $335 million; housing with $294; water and
sanitation with $232 million; health with $166 million; telecommunication and
transportation with $164 million; and education with $114 million.
Iraq has exported almost 3.1 billion barrels of oil at an
estimated $38.6 billion and €19.3 billion ($17.2 billion) in revenue, since
the beginning of the programme on 10 December 1996. With 72 per cent of the
oil proceeds allocated to the humanitarian programme, to date, some $36.2
billion worth of contracts for the purchase of various humanitarian supplies
and equipment have been approved by both the Security Council’s 661
sanctions committee and the Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP), including
about $3.3 billion worth of oil industry equipment. Of the approved contracts,
over $23.8 billion worth of supplies and equipment have been delivered to
Iraq, including $1.5 billion worth of oil industry equipment, while another
$9.9 billion worth of supplies and equipment, for which funds have been
available, are in the production and delivery pipeline, including $1.8 billion
worth of oil industry equipment.
There are now 2,020contracts, worth about $5.08 billion,
previously placed on hold by the 661 Committee, of which 1,406 contracts,
valued at about $4.4 billion, are for humanitarian supplies and 614 contracts,
worth $738 million, are for oil industry equipment. Since the start of
implementation of the new set of procedures under resolution 1409 (2002) on 15
July 2002, some $40 million worth of supplies under 55 contracts that were
previously on hold, have been re-assessed as not to contain Goods Review List
(GRL) items and therefore, approved.
Paragraph 18 of the new set of procedures under resolution
1409 (2002) divides contracts on hold into two categories. The first category
comprises contracts that contain “dual use” item(s), as determined by the
United Nations Secretariat experts, which are returned to the submitting
Mission or United Nations agency for possible re-submission under the new
procedures. The second category includes all other contracts on hold which are
re-circulated by OIP under the new procedures. There are 1,808 contracts
valued at over $4.5 billion in this second category. The re-circulation of
these contracts will be completed by 15 September. It is foreseen that with
the end of this process, there will no longer be contracts on hold.
