US DOE ordered to help Iraq boost oil, electricity output

US DOE ordered to help Iraq boost oil, electricity output

Washington (Platts)--14Jun2006

President Bush Wednesday said he has asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
to travel to Iraq to meet with Iraqi oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani and
other officials to identify ways the US can provide additional support to
boost Iraqi oil and electricity production.

"We're working with the Iraqi government on measures to protect key
infrastructure from insurgent attacks," Bush told reporters in a televised
briefing following his recent trip to Iraq. "There's rapid repair teams that
are being established that'll quickly restore oil and electricity production
if and when attacks do occur."

"I've directed the secretary of energy to travel to Iraq to meet with his
counterpart and identify ways we can provide additional support," Bush said.

Bush said that energy in Iraq was a central topic of discussions during
his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

"To revitalize the Iraqi economy, the prime minister's working to
increase oil and electricity production. We spent a lot of time talking about
energy in Iraq," Bush said.

"I reminded the government that that oil belongs to the Iraqi people and
the government has the responsibility to be good stewards of that valuable
asset and valuable resource."

Bush also noted that it was "up to the Iraqis to pass a hydrocarbon law,
which they're now debating."

Bodman attended a session with Iraqi officials at the presidential
retreat at Camp David in Maryland earlier this week. Prior to the meetings, he
said he hoped to work with the Iraqis to boost oil production, which he said
was key to the country's economic development.

A Department of Energy spokesman said the agency could provide the Iraqi
government with technical advice on energy projects as well as identify models
in the US and other countries that might be useful to Baghdad, DOE Press
Secretary Craig Stevens said.

For example, Stevens said Bodman has cited the Alaska Permanent Fund as a
possible model for a national fund that Bush has suggested for Iraq earlier
this week.

Bush told reporters Monday that Iraq could use oil revenue for a national
fund that would pay for reconstruction projects. Alaska's fund, established in
1976, takes 25% of the state's proceeds from oil production for investment.
Most of the fund's income is distributed in dividends to state residents.

DOE also could offer technical assistance to help Iraq rebuild its
electricity grid, including 2,000 MW of capacity that Baghdad hopes to bring
on-line this summer, Stevens said.

"We will be in contact with them and help them work through issues," he
said.

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