-Caveat Lector- US, Iraq are brothers in arms for oil http://www1.timesofindia.com/cms.dll/html/comp/articleshow?artid=34493185 AP[ THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2003 10:18:38 AM ]
NEW YORK: Under sanctions and an erratic leader, Iraq has hardly been a reliable global oil supplier. But in an odd twist, the United States has grown increasingly reliant on Iraqi oil exports to replace supplies cut off by a seven-week-old strike in Venezuela -- even as the Bush Administration steps up preparations for a possible invasion -- raising further concerns about the impact a US attack would have on the oil market. "The United States gets several hundred thousand barrels a day of crude oil from Iraq," said John Lichtblau, chairman of PIRA Energy in New York. "That's not insignificant." Unpublished, preliminary government data indicate exports of Iraqi oil to the United States have been rising in recent weeks. Since the December 2 start of the labour strike in Venezuela, Iraq's crude oil exports to the United States have averaged more than 500,000 barrels a day, nearly double the volume reported during the September-November period, the data show. Last week, Iraqi oil exports to the United States jumped to 830,000 barrels a day, their highest level since early last year and nearly 10 per cent of total US imports that week, according to an Energy Department analyst. While Iraq's exports remain below levels seen in 2001 and early 2002, the recent surge, including the shipments to the United States, is making a difference, analysts said. The surge in Iraqi shipments helped boost total crude oil imports into the United States by 200,000 barrels a day last week to 8. 5 million barrels a day. "That's probably in reaction to the loss of Venezuelaexports," said Aaron Brady, an analyst at Energy Security. Iraqi oil exports have been erratic since the start of the United Nations oil-for- food programme six years ago. The programme allows Iraq to sell as much oil as it likes provided the revenue goes into a UN account and is used mostly for humanitarian purposes. After topping 1 million barrels a day in January and February of last year, Iraqi oil exports to the United States nose-dived. The decline came in response to the onerous conditions of a new UN pricing policy imposed to frustrate Baghdad's efforts to collect an illegal surcharge from traders. Iraq compounded the problem by cutting off its exports in April in an ill-fated effort to spark a broad oil embargo in support of the Palestinians. For much of last year, Iraqi exports averaged less than 1 million barrels a day, with less than half coming to the United States. Faced with a sharp loss of revenue and US threats of military action, Iraq quietly dropped the surcharge demand in September. Some analysts saw the move as an attempt to build commercial ties as a bulwark against a US attack. Whatever the motive, the change prompted major international oil companies to return to the Iraqi market for the first time in nearly two years, according to industry analysts and UN diplomats. The result has been a clear rise in Iraq's oil exports according to UN figures. Since the start of September, Iraqi exports have averaged about 1.5 million barrels a day, the figures show. A<:>E<:>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article has to stand on its own merits. Therefore, unless I am a first-hand witness to any event described, I cannot attest to its validity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. 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