Another sign worth noting from Iraq:
Iraq Oil Exports Plunge to 628,000 Barrels/Day
By Masood Farivar
NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Dow Jones) - Iraqi oil exports plunged to 628,000 barrels a day last week from 1.2 million barrels a day the prior week, the U.N. reported Tuesday.
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In the week ended Aug. 9, Iraq exported a mere 4.4 million barrels of crude oil, down from 8.4 million barrels exported the prior week, the U.N. said.
"Three loadings took place from Mina al-Bakr terminal, corresponding to 3.6 million barrels of oil, and one from Ceyhan, corresponding to 0.8 million barrels," the U.N. said in its weekly update of Iraqi oil exports.
Iraq exports oil through the U.N.-administered oil-for-food program, an exemption to sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The program allows Iraq to sell oil to purchase food, medicine and other humanitarian goods.
Iraqi oil exports have averaged a little over 1 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, compared with a more typical rate of 2 million barrels a day under the program.
Analysts attribute the drop in exports to Iraq's demand that lifters pay an under-the-table surcharge and to a U.N. pricing method designed to curb the Iraqi effort.
Because of the drop in export revenues, contracts for some $2.4 billion worth of goods lack funding, the U.N. said. |
