Iraqi oil exports average 1.5-mil b/d Feb 1-21: official

Dubai (Platts)--22Feb2006

Iraq's southern crude exports averaged 1.5-mil b/d for the first three
weeks of February, outpacing January levels, a senior Iraqi oil ministry
official said Wednesday. 
     The country's southern crude oil production stood at some 1.75-mil b/d,
while total crude output from northern and southern fields remained at about
the 2-mil b/d level, the official said, adding that there were still no
exports from the north.
     "Production is about 2-mil b/d in total," the official said. "It is still
the same situation in the north. The pipeline is continuously being attacked."
There have been no regular exports of Iraqi Kirkuk crude from the Turkish
Mediterranean port of Ceyhan since December 2004 because of regular insurgent
attacks on pipelines and northern energy infrastructure.
     The persistent attacks have also hampered efforts to build production to
pre-war levels. Supply from the north in January averaged 250,000 b/d, some
50,000 b/d below the December 2005 rate and the average for last year. The
southern rate was only 1.375-mil b/d, down 135,000 b/d over December.
     Total production for the month was 1.625-mil b/d, 185,000 b/d below
December and 445,000 b/d below last year's average. Iraq restarted loading
crude oil Tuesday at 1500 hrs (1100 GMT) from the southern Basra Oil Terminal
with current rates of 72,000 bbl/hour after a two-day halt, a shipping agent
in the southern port said Wednesday. Crude oil loadings and shipping
operations were halted Monday because of bad weather.

MINISTRY PLANS ON HOLD
     The ministry's efforts to repair damaged infrastructure and build
production to targeted levels have been put on hold as the country waits for a
new government and the appointment of an oil minister, the official said. 
     "Until a new government takes hold and there is a new minister, we are
paralyzed," the official said, reiterating comments made by other senior Iraqi
oil ministry officials in recent weeks. 
     Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari in January named Hasham
al-Hashami as acting oil minister, replacing Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum, until a new
government is formed. 
     "We have to wait and see who is appointed," the official said. "Hashami
could be a candidate."
     Sabah al-Jowhar, manager of the Iraqi oil ministry's gas department, said
in Doha Monday that the priority was to form a new government and then pass an
investment law before Baghdad could sign any energy deals. Sectarian
differences between the Sunni-Muslim and Kurdish minorities and the dominant
Shi'ite Muslim majority following parliamentary elections Dec 15 have delayed
efforts to form a cabinet as the factions haggle over key portfolios.
     US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has threatened to cut US aid if Iraqi
leaders are unable to appoint interior and defense ministers outside the
control of religious parties. Shi'ite leaders, including Prime Minister
designate Ibrahim al-Jafaari, believe that their strong election showing gives
them the right to control key ministries. 
     The coalition of Shi'ite parties won 130 out of 275 parliamentary seats,
while a Kurdish alliance took 53 and two Sunni Arab blocs together gained 55
seats. But Sunni and Kurdish leaders are demanding a role in running key
ministerial posts in the new government. It was not immediately clear if the
Shi'ites would retain the oil ministry portfolio, as they have done in
post-war governments.
--Glen Carey, glen_carey@plattts.com

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