Iraq’s Oil Exports Hit Pre-War Levels
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq’s oil production and exports have risen to their highest levels since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Oil Ministry said Monday.
The country’s exports reached 2.11 million barrels a day in March while the total output stood at about 2.5 million barrels a day, spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press.
“The figures in May showed that we have succeeded in reaching the prewar levels both in production and exports,” he said.
The Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Energy Department, estimated Iraqi production at about 2.6 million barrels a day in early 2003. Production tappered off just before the U.S.-led invasion, then dropped to below 1.5 million barrels a day, according to the group.
Oil exports were down last month because of the fighting between government forces and militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra province, the center of the southern oil industry.
The fighting ended with a truce brokered in Iran.
Iraq sits on the world’s third-largest proven petroleum reserves, totaling more than 115 billion barrels. But the industry is plagued by a lack of modern equipment and training after decades of U.N. sanctions, war and Saddam Hussein’s ruinous rule.
The country plans to boost oil output to 3 million barrels a day by the end of 2008 and 4.5 million barrels a day by end of 2013.
Iraq hopes to earn about $70 billion in oil revenues this year if crude oil prices remain high and the country maintains stability in major producing areas.
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Truce brokered by Iran? I thought they got their asses kicked in Basara!
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:21 pmGood. Time to flow either money or oil our way. We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into your soil. You are now free men and, if you believe in freedom, nobody will ever be able to take it away. We are not asking, right is right and now it is time to pay up.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 pmIt just needs to get to market and things will start to level out but it won’t happen overnight. You don’t start taking blood from a patient right after surgery, there is plenty of healing yet to be done and like I said, getting more supply to the market will bring prices down on their own. That’s how markets work.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:34 pm“The fighting ended with a truce brokered in Iran.”
The thesis of the completely worthless Pelosi (’thank God for the Iranians’) being parroted by the completely worthless Associated Press.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm[[The fighting ended with a truce brokered in Iran.]]
Ghhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
Where do they get the fucking morons who work at the AP.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm$70bn is about as much as Iran gets from exports — and $35bn of that went mysteriously missing after passing through A-job’s office; it never reached the gov’t bank accounts. Then Hez and Syria got a bunch of new rockets. Etc.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:35 pmI dunno about demanding it. But if they, ya know, started pumping some our way as a thank you. It wouldn’t be bad. Plus what better way to get the MSM eating general public to support Iraq than to say, “A liberated Iraq is providing us with oil.” Think of how many people would support the war then.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:26 pmGreat, they better send us some of that oil. =D
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 amUnfortunately, there are those that would see Iran sending us oil, as proof that we went to war for “Oil”
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 amI’m with CPLViper. Send oil our way
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 am