Markets stay calms despite Iraqi oil halt
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, December 4, 2000
LONDON — Oil prices have remained stable amid the Iraqi suspension
of oil
exports.
Oil markets in London and New York succeeded in staying calm on Friday
as reports arrived that Baghdad was making good on its threat to halt oil
exports. Analysts said Saudi Arabia will make up for any short-term shortage
in supply.
In Washington, U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said the United
States would be prepared to draw from its strategic petroleum reserve to
prevent a crunch in supplies.
The Iraqi move — which ended crude oil shipments to the Turkish port of
Ceyhan and the Iraqi Gulf port of Mina Al Bakr — comes ahead of a dialogue
with the United Nations next month to end the sanctions imposed more than 10
years ago. The sanctions include UN supervision of Iraqi oil exports, a
program that expires on Tuesday.
Iraqi officials said the halt in oil exports began on Friday. They said
the suspension was in protest
of the UN rejection of an Iraqi demand for customers to pay a 50 cent
surcharge per barrel.
"Iraq is determined not to abandon its rights," the Iraqi Oil Ministry
said.
Iraq, which has exported 2.3 million barrels of oil per day, is believed
to have prepared well for any fuel stoppage. Analysts said Iraq has nearly
$12 billion in escrow accounts and billions of more
dollars in revenue from oil smuggling.
Baghdad has also renewed operations of a pipeline to Syria, which would
not fall under UN supervision. The renewal of operations has been confirmed
by Western diplomats.
"We were discussing with the Syrians the need to have that mode of oil
transfer come under the UN jurisdiction, to be approved by the sanctions
committee," U.S. State Department Philip Reeker said on Friday.
The UN is trying to resolve the crisis. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan
has called for a resolution of hundreds of Iraqi applications for import
approval. The United States and Britain have held up more than $2.3 billion
in Iraqi import orders out of concern that the items could be used in
Baghdad's military programs.
Annan said about a third of the suspended orders involve incomplete
information regarding the imports and their purpose. He said the
applications would have to be resubmitted before they could be processed.
Monday, December 3, 2000
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