The volume of
Iraqi oil exports under the United Nations oil-for-food programme continued to
rise this week. In the week
ending 13 April, 17.4 million barrels of oil were lifted through 12 loadings,
at an average of 2.48 million barrels a day.
Of the total loadings, seven were at Mina-al-Bakr and five at Ceyhan
terminals. The week’s oil
exports raised an estimated €418 million (euros)
in revenue at current prices. The
average price of Iraqi crude oil during the week was approximately $21.45 or €24.05
(euros) per barrel.
In current
phase IX, Iraq has exported 180.8 million barrels of oil, so far, earning over
€3.9 billion (euros) in revenue.
Since the beginning of the oil-for-food programme on 10 December 1996,
Iraqi oil exports have totaled approximately 2,387 million barrels for an
estimated revenue of $38.6 billion and €3.9 billion
(euros).
During the week, the United Nations oil
overseers, on behalf of the Security Council’s 661 sanctions Committee,
approved three more oil purchase contracts, for two million barrels of Kirkuk
crude and three million barrels of Basrah Light.
There are now 149 approved contracts for the lifting of over 459
million barrels of oil, 281 million barrels of
which are for Basrah Light and 178 million for Kirkuk.
In phases IV to IX, the Committee has now
approved 5,570 contracts worth $11.7 billion for humanitarian supplies and
another 2,422 contracts worth more than $1.32 billion for the purchase of oil
industry spare parts and equipment. The
Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP) has notified the 661 Committee of 1,684
contracts worth over $4 billion for humanitarian supplies which have been
processed under the “fast track” procedures based on pre-approved lists,
while another 162 contracts worth about $113 million have also been “fast
tracked” for oil industry spare parts and equipment.
During this period, there were 1,682
contracts worth $3.52 billion on hold. Of
these, 1,138 contracts worth over $3 billion were for humanitarian supplies,
while 544 contracts worth over $437 million were for oil industry spare parts
and equipment.
Habitat
reported that a cumulative total of goods worth $1.1 billion have been
approved by the 661 Committee for the housing sector.
Materials worth $98 million had arrived in Iraq and observation staff
conducted 1,048 spot checks on distributed supplies in February 2001.
Response had been strong, with a notable reduction in the price of
imported building materials, which were being sold at less than 50 per cent of
their cost price. A review of
distribution sites in Baghdad showed that some 54 per cent of end users were
located in low or medium low socio-economic areas.
As at 13 April 2001, over $2.53 billion
and over €2 billion (euros) in unencumbered 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.
