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Iraq May Pump 1.57M Barrels of Oil a Day

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 09:00 CST

VIENNA, Austria - Iraq's deputy prime minister said Tuesday that his country will pump 1.57 million barrels of oil a day in 2006, according to forecasts.

Ahmad Chalabi, who is representing Iraq at the first meeting this year of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this year, also said he expects some $4 billion in investment in his country's aging oil infrastructure. He did not specify where it would come from.

The amount of oil Iraq pumped daily last year was not immediately available, but it exported 508 million barrels, or 1.41 million barrels a day in 2005. That was a 4.7 percent drop from 2004, when it exported 533 million barrels, or 1.48 million barrels a day.

Targeting Iraq's oil infrastructure has become a favorite tactic for the insurgents, in part because it foments discontent toward the U.S. occupation. American officials had hoped to finance much of Iraq's reconstruction with oil sales, but Iraq has had difficulties in returning its oil production to prewar levels.

Though the country has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves, it suffers from frequent gas shortages and often must import fuel because its refining capacity is so low.

By comparison, Russia and Saudi Arabia both produced about 8.9 million barrels of oil per day, according to OPEC's 2004 statistical bulletin. The United States produced about 5.4 million barrels per day, OPEC said.

Insurgents in Iraq frequently attack pipelines and in December forced the shutdown of the country's largest oil refinery by attacking convoys of truck drivers, who refused to continue driving Iraq's dangerous roads until more security was provided.

Iraq is a member of OPEC, but doesn't participate in the cartel's output quota system.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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