Iraq's August oil production rises to 2.285 million b/d: ministry

Amman (Platts)--8Sep2006

Iraqi Ministry of Oil figures for August show that crude oil production
and internal supply rates from northern fields rose during the month, lifting
the country's total production to 2.285 million b/d, up 42,000 b/d from the
previous month.
Production from northern fields rose in August to 308,000 b/d, up by
28,000 b/d, the ministry figures, obtained by Platts, showed. This was due to
the repair in mid-August of one of the crude oil feed pipelines connecting the
Kirkuk oil production center with the major refining and pumping hub in Baiji,
which were isolated after a major attack on the connecting pipelines on July
6.
The return to operation of the pipeline allowed for the supply of crude
oil to Baiji; the build-up of emergency stock in the area as well as the
pumping of crude to the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan for export, with some
quantities exported in the last week of August.
Pumping to Ceyhan continued intermittently during the first week of
September and the State Oil Marketing Organization SOMO issued a tender on
September 3, closing on September 9, to lift 6 million barrels of Kirkuk from
September 22.
Production from southern fields rose by 14,000 b/d to 1.977 million b/d,
its highest level in two years.
August exports totaled 1.647 million b/d, up from 1.686 million b/d in
July. Iraq exported an average of 42,000 bl/d from the north, against 165,000
b/d in July. Around 29,000 b/d were exported from Ceyhan by pipeline to the
Turkish refinery at Kirikkale and around 13,000 b/d to Syria from the Sufaya
oilfield near the Syrian border.
Exports from the Basra Oil Terminal in the south averaged 1.605 million
b/d in August, up from 1.521 million b/d in July, the ministry figures showed.
Internal supply rates to refineries and power stations totaled 483,000
b/d in August, 108,000 higher than July.
The increase is a welcome relief to the Iraqi authorities, who have
struggled in the last two months with a severe internal fuel supply crisis
which was compounded by the reduction of production from the local refineries,
caused mainly by the isolation of the Baiji refineries from their crude oil
supplies. Local supply from the north was 175,000 b/d, 77,000 b/d higher than
July. Supply from the south was up by 31,000 b/d at 308,000 b/d.
The Iraqi government said on September 6 that it had raised to $800
million the amount it will spend on imported fuels in 2006, nearly four times
the original budget.
--Faleh al-Khayat, newsdesk@platts.com

 

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