Iraq's oil exports rose slightly last week from 14.7 million to 15.9 million barrels, the office administering the United Nations oil-for-food program said Tuesday, October 23.
In the week ending October 19, there were five loadings each at Iraq's Gulf port of Mina Al-Bakr and the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, the only export outlets authorized under UN sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990.
The average price of Iraqi crude during the week was about $17.60 (19.45 euros) a barrel and revenue was estimated at $280 million (310 million euros), the office said.
Revenue so far in the current phase of the program, which runs from July 4 to November 30, is about 4.5 billion euros, just over four billion dollars. But sales were erratic at the start of the phase, the price of Iraqi oil has fallen from $24.30 a barrel in the past five weeks, and the UN has said it expects a large shortfall in revenue.
Iraq has sold 211.1 million barrels of crude in the current phase, the tenth since the program was set up in December 1996 to alleviate the impact of sanctions on ordinary Iraqis.
Orders are outstanding for another 166.9 million barrels, including three new contracts approved by the independent oil overseers last week, the office said. — (AFP, United Nations)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
