Kurdistan PM Barzani says Iraq should triple crude oil export capacity, agree on oil law
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Kurdistan's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said Tuesday that Iraq should boost crude oil export capacity to 6 million barrels a day, three times the amount the country is exporting now.
"We think Iraq needs to export more oil," Barzani said to reporters after a press conference in Dubai. "Iraq has (the) capacity to export six million barrels a day, but they're happy with two million."
Barzani also said that talks about Iraq's long-awaited federal oil law will resume within two weeks in Baghdad, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
On Monday, Iraq's oil ministry said the country's oil production and exports have risen to their highest levels since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Iraq'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 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 tapered off just before the U.S.-led invasion, then dropped to below 1.5 million barrels a day, according to the group.
Full story: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/03/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Oil-export.php
