LOS ANGELES, Mar. 30 -- Iraqi oil officials have confirmed reduced exports of crude oil, largely due to attacks on northern facilities, but are taking steps to ensure continued exports via the country's southern terminals.
Even as they were giving their reports, Al-Arabiya TV of Dubai on Mar. 30 reported that new explosions had targeted pipelines carrying crude oil from northern fields to the country's main refining center at Baiji.
Oil Minister Hashem al-Hashemi said the country cannot export oil via the northern pipeline system because of extensive damage from saboteurs. He said a manifold had been destroyed and will take 8-12 months to repair.
Production from the northern fields, averaging around 250,000 b/d in March, has been shut in.
Overall, Iraq's exports have dropped to their lowest level since 2003 at 1.1 million b/d in December and January due to the sabotage in the north along with bad weather and logistics problems in the south.
But Hashemi said Iraq's production of crude oil is stable at 1.9-2.1 million b/d. He said March exports via the country's two main Persian Gulf terminals would reach 1.5 million b/d.
Meanwhile, to help ease the logistics problems and boost exports, another official said Iraq has hired two tugboats to escort oil tankers in and out of its southern oil terminals and plans to purchase as many as five new tugs.
Shamkhi Faraj, head of oil marketing and economic affairs in the oil minister's office, said the two rented tugs are at work at the Basra and Khor al-Amaya terminals.
However, Faraj said Iraq can't export more than 1.6 million b/d from the south for a variety of reasons, including a lack of investment in southern oil fields, which are producing around 1.75 million b/d.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
