Iraq Blames US for Its Halt of Oil ExportThe halt of Iraq's oil export was caused by US pressure on the oil overseers of the United Nations, Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid told a press conference Sunday, December 3.The Iraqi minister said that on November 21, four days before Iraq submitted an oil pricing formula for December to the UN overseers, responsible for giving consultations and advice to the UN Sanctions Committee, the U.S. exerted pressure on them and as a result, the committee and Iraq failed to agree on the price mechanism. Consequently, oil companies could not send their tankers to load Iraq's oil because "they can not predict what the oil prices they will have to pay," Rashid said. "The American position, with support from Britain, has resulted in the interruption of Iraq's oil export to the world market," he said. Iraq "has absolutely no intention of interruption of its oil export," Rashid said, adding that Iraq has always aimed at maintaining the stability of the world oil market. Answering questions from Xinhua, Rashid said that Iraq will be able to defend its position on the price mechanism and at the same time, "we will manage to explain our position more and more in detail so that the overseers will be convinced." Rashid urged the oil overseers to have a better understanding of Iraq's stand and shrug off the "political pressure" from the US and Britain. Iraq submitted the oil price mechanism from its own vision of the oil market and based on its normal oil policy, which is aimed at making its oil competitive in the market and encouraging buyers to load oil without any reluctance or hindrance, Rashid said. However, he expressed optimism that the stalemate will end soon as it has often been the case at the end of each phase of the UN. oil-for-food program, launched in late 1996 to offset the effects of a crippling UN sanctions on Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The humanitarian program, whose current eighth phase is due to end on December 5, allows Iraq to sell oil to buy humanitarian goods, but the revenues were deposited in a U.N. escrow account out of Iraq's control. In a bid to get round U.N. control of all oil export revenues, Baghdad slapped a 50 cent premium on a barrel for December. The United Nations said it amounted to a violation of the sanctions regime as the premium would be paid directly to Baghdad and not to the escrow account for Iraqi oil exports. Iraq, in the meantime, also offered a discount to clients, to compensate for the 50 cent premium, and the United Nations said the formula was below a fair market price. |
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