(13
- 19 April 2002)
Iraq has maintained its suspension of oil
exports under the United Nations oil-for-food programme.
The last loading took place on 8 April 2002. The average price of Iraqi crude oil during the week was
approximately €25.50 (euros) or $22.60 per barrel.
The estimated revenue netted from the
export of 207 million barrels of oil in current phase XI of the programme is
€4.37 billion or $3.88 billion, at current prices and rate of exchange. Phase XI ends on 29 May 2002.
The United Nations oil overseers have approved 152 oil purchase
contracts for 360 million barrels of oil in this phase, including one new
contract approved during the week in review.
Owing to a funding shortfall, 1,062
approved contracts for the purchase of various humanitarian supplies and
equipment, worth over $2.5 billion, could not be funded, including 205
contracts, valued at $485 million, in current phase XI.
Revenue loss, as a result of the suspension of oil exports, is
estimated at $1.3 billion.
An
estimated $38.6 billion and €17
billion ($14.9 billion) in revenue has been generated from the export of some
3 billion barrels of oil since the start of the
programme on 10 December 1996.
With 72 per cent of the oil revenue being allocated to the humanitarian
programme, some $34 billion worth of humanitarian supply contracts have been
approved by the Security Council’s 661 sanctions committee and
“fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP), including
some $3 billion worth of contracts for oil industry spare parts and equipment. So far, approximately $21.2 billion worth of humanitarian
supplies and equipment have been delivered to Iraq, including $1.3 billion
worth of oil industry equipment, while another $12.8 billion worth of
humanitarian supplies, including $1.8 billion worth of oil industry equipment,
are in the production and delivery pipeline.
The
total value of contracts placed on hold by 661 Committee stood at $5.2
billion, covering 2,119 humanitarian supply and equipment purchase contracts,
of which 1,454 contracts, worth about $4.5 billion, were for humanitarian
supplies and 665 contracts, worth $724 million, were for oil industry spare
parts and equipment. During the
week, the Committee released from hold 10 contracts, worth $37 million, while
placing on hold 51 new contracts, valued at $139 million.
In the category of “inactive holds”
there were 223 contracts, valued at $426 million, for which suppliers had not
provided the additional technical information requested by the “holding”
Committee member(s) in over 60 days. At
the same time, in the category of “active holds”, there were 519
contracts, worth more than $1.6 billion, for which there was no feedback from
the holding Committee member(s) in excess of 60 days, despite the provision of
additional information by suppliers.
