Two Years On, Iraq Output Still Struggling

9 March 2005 Almost two years after the US-led war ousted the Baath regime, Iraq is still struggling to meet prewar production levels at its dilapidated oil fields. Iraq’s southern oil fields, which accounted for the majority of prewar production of 2.8 million barrels per day, are currently managing just 1.85 million b/d — and even this rate is causing great distress to reservoirs, Iraq’s interim Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban…

Iraqi Oil Officials Weigh US Policy Role

7 May 2003 With current efforts in Iraq’s oil sector focusing on near-term repairs and restoration, cooperation between officials from the US and Iraq is proceeding smoothly. But Iraqi oil technocrats appear more skeptical about cooperation with the US on long-term policy, according to soundings by International Oil Daily in Baghdad. There is already internal debate among Iraqi officials about the correct course for the industry going forward, with some…

Kuwait, Turkey Send Oil Products to Iraq — Backed by US Cash

7 May 2003 A combination of rundown power infrastructure and war damage is forcing Iraq to import oil products to relieve severe shortages that have almost brought the country to a halt. The first shipments of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas from Turkey and Kuwait are due to arrive this week, Iraqi and US sources said. At the same time, the northern Baiji refinery resumed minimal operations on Tuesday. “We…

Oil Assessment Work Gets Going in North Iraq

2 May 2003 A team from US Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) on Thursday started assessment work at Iraq’s northern oil fields, as part of a contract the company holds with the US military, a KBR official told International Oil Daily on the scene. “We are looking at various units and assessing oil and gas production facilities in coordination with [Iraq’s] North Oil Co. (NOC) management,” Rick Hopper,…