Iraq Needs 2 Years To Reach 1990 Output Levels-Ex Oil Min

A former Iraqi oil minister said Friday that it would take Iraq at least two years to boost its production to 3.5 million barrels a day, the level it produced at the time of the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Issam al-Chalabi, who was Iraq’s oil minister when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, said Iraq’s oil industry has been a “victim of politics” that has suffered from war damage, sabotage and neglect for years.

He told an audience at the Middle East Institute that Iraq’s policy to maximize production with little regard to maintenance started under Saddam and continues to this day.
DowJones Newswires