Iraq Oil Report

Plus:
*Fighting in Basra, Iraq’s oil capital
*Oil flow not affected, ministry says
*Likely outcome troubling for violence and politics
*Chevron ready for Iraq deals
*Lukoil says West Qurna progress
*Workers poisoned at water plant needed for oil sector
*CS Monitor marks Five Years in Iraq
*Turkey vs. Kurds in … Basra?
*Iraq’s female detainees show deep problems

Iraq’s oil exports have increased in recent months, boosting state income, but overall oil production has dropped, according to Oil Ministry data. The slowdown is likely due to a perfect storm of accidents, insurgents and a lack of electricity and fuels.

Iraq exported 1.82 million barrels per day in December, according to data published on the ministry’s Web site, Ben Lando reports for United Press International. That increased to 1.92 million bpd in January and 1.93 million bpd last month — $5 billion in oil revenue for February using the ministry averaged crude price at $89.79 per barrel. …

Separate documents detailing December and January overall production show it dropping from nearly 2.3 million bpd to just under 2.1 million bpd. Supply to refineries and power plants also declined.

The New Year saw fires at Iraq’s main refineries and insurgent attacks on power lines, both of which negatively affect the ability to produce crude. And with upward momentum in production already, more crude was directed out of the country, as Iraqis languished in an ongoing shortage of fuels and electricity.

Oil production and exports from Iraq’s southern oil hub of Basra were unaffected by heavy fighting between Iraqi police and armed groups, Randy Fabi and Ahmed Rasheed report for Reuters.

Basra is or is near 80 percent of Iraq’s production and where 90 percent of exports head to market. It also is heavily influenced by Iran, religious fundamentalism, smuggling and other gang activity, and the militias and politics of key parties – Fadhila, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (which is trying to take power and control over the oil from Fadhila), and the Sadr Movement.

The Shiite city has been torn by fighting among parties and militias that are competing to control the south’s oil reserves. A security plan includes a curfew and ban on incoming cars, Ned Parker and Saif Hameed report for the Los Angeles Times. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki visited Basra on Monday in preparation for a new security crackdown in the troubled Shiite Muslim city.

Meanwhile Moqtada al-Sadr is shutting down commerce in protest in his strongholds in Baghdad, Leila Fadel and Nancy A. Youssef report for McClatchy Newspapers, and could end his Mahdi Army’s ceasefire which Washington has partially credited for the increase in security in Iraq.

This is why oil prices turned around a three day reprieve, Alexander Kwiatkowski reports for Bloomberg News.

In a separate piece, Reuters has a FAQ on Basra.

Chevron Corp. and other international oil companies are negotiating with the Iraq Ministry of Oil to begin tapping into some of the country’s largest oil fields, according to published reports, David R. Baker reports for The San Francisco Chronicle.

Russian firm Lukoil is claiming partial victory in its struggle for a Saddam-era oil deal during a CEO visit to Iraq and lobbying by President Vladimir Putin, UPI reports. The Iraqi government, however, hasn’t signaled a reversal of opinion that the deal was canceled prior to Saddam’s overthrow, thus no longer valid.

When the American team arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2003 to repair the Qarmat Ali water injection plant, supervisors told them the orange, sand-like substance strewn around the looted facility was just a “mild irritant,” workers recall. The workers got it on their hands and clothing every day while racing for 2 1/2 months to meet a deadline to get the plant, a crucial part of Iraq’s oil infrastructure, up and running, Farah Stockman reports for The Boston Globe.

But the chemical turned out to be sodium dichromate, a substance so dangerous that even limited exposure greatly increases the risk of cancer. Soon, many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath. Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston-based construction company in charge of the repairs.

Security, Society & Politics

In Iraq, jailed women tell of abuse. Some don’t know why they were arrested, and many are held for months without seeing a judge. Justice officials deny the accusations, but evidence points to deep-rooted problems, Kimi Yoshino reports for the Los Angeles Times. Nearly 200 women, some with their toddlers and infants living with them in their cells, are imprisoned in Baghdad’s only detention facility for women. Suspected killers bunk with women charged with petty crimes.

On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, progress is slow but violence is down. A three-part series on the war’s effects starts with a look at what the endgame might look like. Five Years In Iraq, a major multimedia series by the staff at The Christian Science Monitor. A must read/view/listen.

A top Turkish envoy was dispatched to Iraq yesterday to finalize Ankara’s bid to open a consulate in the southern city of Basra, in an effort to strengthen Turkey’s ties with Shiite groups that comprise around 65 percent of Iraq’s population, Serkan Demirtas reports for the Turkish Daily News.

US President George W. Bush has officially invited Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani to visit the US capital, news reports posted from Arbil following US Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to the region have said, Today’s Zaman reports.
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