Iraq says security boost helps oil flow

UPI ^ | 16 Nov 07 | staf

[saganite]

Saudi Arabia, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Iraq is producing nearly 2.5 million barrels per day, a giant step forward, as the security situation improves, its oil minister said.

"The security situation in Iraq over the last year has not helped the oil industry in the country to produce as much as Iraq can produce and make available to the world market," Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters this week on the sidelines of an OPEC summit.

"However, in the last couple of months there has been very significant improvement in the security conditions in the country," he said. "We have been producing more oil. As a matter of fact our production has almost reached 2.5 million bpd, up from about 2 million a few months ago."

Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven reserves, the third largest in the world. But amidst a more than four and a half year war, following U.N. sanctions on development and decades of Saddam Hussein's misuse of the sector, Iraq has been struggling for most of the past year to produce even 2 million barrels per day.

The pipeline from the super giant Kirkuk oil field to a port in Turkey has been a particular victim of insurgents, whose attacks have kept the major export vehicle largely offline since 2003.

But this summer Iraq bolstered security around the pipeline, and it has flowed pretty constant, though not at capacity.

"Now we are seeing tribes that were actually collaborating with the insurgents to attack the pipelines are volunteering to defend those very pipelines," he said. "This has enabled Iraq to increase production by more than 300,000 bpd, making it available to the world market in the last month or so and that has helped quite significantly in making more oil available."

Shahristani said the U.S. surge in troops "has nothing to do with it."

"As a matter of fact the Multi-National Forces are nowhere near our oil field production or pipelines," he said. "It is only the oil protection force which is part of the Ministry of Oil structure that has been providing the protection for the pipelines."

[saganite]

A few comments.

This is good news and I've read the Iraqis are projecting 3.0 million BPD by year end.

Shahristani crdits the improved security situation in Iraq and at the same time claims the US surge has nothing to do with the increased flow. Hmmm.

The security force protecting the pipeline into Turkey is a Kurd Peshmerga brigade. Probably the best of the Iraqi forces.

[kinghorse]

They could not resist tearing into the US to end their stupid article. Yeah sure it has nothing to do with the US forces. Unbelievable. Whatever their weak pride needs I suppose. Meanwhile the US military won a spectacular victory over the jihadi, so decisively, one of the top iman in Eqypt recently wrote a treatise imploring jihad idiots to give up. Precisely what the world needs. Islamic pride erupts like herpes every few decades and needs a strong treatment to get it back under control. Bush and our military stood up in the tradition of T. Roosevelt, W. Churchill and other grand western leaders.

[FastCoyote]

I think it’s time for the shorts to squeeze the longs in the oil markets. An extra million barrels a day by early next year would be a major dent. That’s almost $100 million per day at current market prices. Say Iraq’s cut at the well head is $40 million a day X 365 days that’s $14,600,000,000 or about $550 per man woman and child, a nice jump in that part of the world.

[elhombrelibre]

Bush’s fault ping.

[Tennessean4Bush]

claims the US surge has nothing to do with the increased flow.

I think that is a positive comment. We all know that indirectly the surge helped this, but I am all for their self-determination.

[bert]

There is another important reason.....

The tribal leaders quit believing the American Democrat leaders. There was not going to be an American desetrtion.

[LZ_Bayonet]

"The tribal leaders quit believing the American Democrat leaders. There was not going to be an American desetrtion."

Bush's Fault!

[Marine_Uncle]

Perhaps the current surge has not directly attributed to the increased flow in this pipeline. But the pipeline would not even being operated at this point, if US forces had not been performing major military counter-insurgency operations in the north for the past three years. And lest we forget, it has been the US military engineering groups responsible for putting all the improvements for both their aging and long neglected oil refineries and electrical generation facilities.
Everything in Iraq that is important to sustained and better living conditions is the result of the American and Coalition forces.
But good for them. They have decided to stop being idiots and attempt to rebuild much of what Saddam neglected to take care of.

[jveritas]

In two years from now Iraq will be producing at least 5 millions barrels of oil a day.

[elhombrelibre]

I’d imagine that’s true. Then, they should really prosper.

[elhombrelibre]

True, the COE has done tremendous things in Iraq, nearly all of it unsung of course. It’s been far more important for the MSM to give a gruesome body count than to report on what the GRD has been up to. Normally, Liberals will tell you that you must build schools and hospitals to improve society and win people over. In Iraq, the MSM and Democrats have proven that its ideology that drives many people, at least for them!

[Marine_Uncle]

Liberals are much lower then whale *hit as you can well surmise. They truly are lying low lives that will anything to make it appear they are right on issues. Stalins trained useful little idiots. But I tell you nothing are not accutely aware of.

[Marine_Uncle]

I would have to support your prophecy on the oil output issue. One of these days soon we shall start reading more about the large reserves under al Anbar provincial land. Once they get things normalized and start drilling oil from the north, south, and al Anbar they could even top your predictions.
And I bet some of the libs really do understand the consequences of this.

[jveritas]

I think if they upgrade their current oil infrastructures, the Iraqis can produce 5 millions barrels a day without the need for new drilling but for sure they need to drill for more oil in particular in the Western Desert (Anbar province) where new studies say that there is a huge reserve of oil there.

[Marine_Uncle]

I believe you are right. The existing pipelines are half or more of the problem. Of course finding reliable workers to maintain the system has not been easy. I can see their budding airforce expending a lot of time policing their thousands of miles of piplines. It has simply been to easy for saboteurs to damage the line(s). Not to mention the general populace who have often tapped the lines for personal use.
Same could go for refinery maintenance. To much has been placed on foreign workers/tech people etc., to maintain their stuff in the past. They have to establish a local work force capable of taking care of their industrial complex.
Perhaps it will come to past in due time.