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To: Broken_Clock who wrote (19455)	4/17/1998 2:21:00 AM
From: upanddown	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

"marc was surfing the news all day but didn't see it posted..oversight I guess. I was looking too and I didn't see it. All I can tell you is that the time posted on the Reuters story(11:17am) is right about when ESV fell off the table to the tune of $2 in about 5 minutes!." There must have been some glitch in the dissemination of this news item because this would normally have been in heated discussion on this thread within an hour. We assume that it has been factored into ESV price already because of the trading action. Some large holders were aware of it but all ? Tomorrow will tell. John

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (19455)	4/17/1998 3:26:00 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Iraq Unable to Pump As Much Oil As UN Allows UNITED NATIONS, April 16 - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed Iraq be allowed to import $300 million in equipment to upgrade its dilapidated oil industry, according to a report to the Security Council on Thursday. But Annan said that even if emergency repairs were carried out Baghdad could export only $3 billion worth of oil over any six months in 1998, far less than the $5.256 billion authorized by the Security Council under the "oil-for-food" program. The council's figure, which more than doubled the previous $2 billion in oil Baghdad was allowed to sell over six months, was prompted by the plight of ordinary Iraqis suffering under the impact of punishing sanctions. The oil-for-food deal is an exception to the embargoes imposed in August 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Annan recommended the Security Council lower its Iraqi oil export allowance to $4 billion, beginning in June and ending in December, and review the sum again later in the year, depending on the arrival of the needed equipment. The Security Council had asked Annan to conduct the analysis and said it would consider implementing his recommendations. Iraq currently can only import humanitarian goods, not oil equipment. Annan based his report on a survey by the Dutch firm Saybolt which monitors Iraq's oil industry for the United Nations. It said Baghdad's petroleum facilities, infrastructure and transport were in a "lamentable state." The oil experts doubted that Iraq's own estimate or "production profile" of 3 million barrels per day could be met any time this year and probably not next year either. "Should the current average price of $10.50 per barrel for Iraqi crude remain unchanged, based on the existing export capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day, revenues only in the amount of $3 billion could be achieved during a 180-day period, starting in June 1998, provided the spare parts required are ordered immediately," the report said. In the next six month period, beginning in December 1998, Iraq could export 1.7 million barrels a day, generating $3.9 billion but based on a price of $12.50 per barrel, it said. The experts, Annan said, agreed with Iraq's oil ministry that Baghdad needed $300 million for spare parts. But he said this sum reflected "only the most essential and urgent needs of the Iraqi oil industry." Iraq last week was exporting crude at a rate of about 1.57 million barrels per day (bpd), which would generate just under $3 billion in revenues over 180 days at current prices. To reach $5.256 billion, Iraq would have to boost exports to about 2.8 million bpd at current prices, a level it has not reached since before its war with Iran in 1980. "The oil processing and treatment facilities, refineries and storage terminals in the country have been severely damaged and continue to deteriorate," the report said. "This deterioration, particularly in the oil fields, will accelerate until significant action is taken to contain and relieve the problems," it added. "Without rapid and adequate investment in spare parts, and repairs ... plus the development of a number of smaller fields, the gap between the existing decline curve and the projected increment in crude oil production will grow wider for each month that financing is delayed," the report concluded.