Analysis: Iraq oil flow actually lower

New reports on Iraq oil production find it flat, possibly decreasing, dampening expectations the sector was steadily advancing in the final months of 2007.

The needs of Iraq’s oil sector to continue and expand are not new. But the inability to exact levels of oil flow — particularly the exports that bring in the tens of billions of dollars a year that support the federal budget — highlight a troubling lack of transparency for Iraq and occupation powers.


Oil production in the world’s third-largest oil reserves averaged nearly 2 million barrels per day since the 2003 invasion. That’s nearly half the production of Iran and about 22 percent of Saudi Arabia, the second and first largest oil reserves, respectively.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry — battling the effects of decades of war, Saddam Hussein’s mismanagement, U.N. sanctions and the present chaos — said programs to repair and secure key, but often targeted, infrastructure would pay off. It apparently has, though not as well as has been reported.

UPI