Iraq's Oil Contracts on Hold by UN DecreasesThe total value of contracts placed on hold by the U.N. sanctions committee on Iraq decreased in the week leading to April 28, both in absolute and relative terms, after months of gradual increase, the UN said Tuesday.Overall, 1,691 contracts worth 3.5 billion U.S. dollars were on hold, representing 17.1 percent of the value of all contracts circulated to the committee, it said in a press release. Of the total contracts on hold, 1,144 contracts worth 3.07 billion dollars were for humanitarian supplies, while 547 contracts valued at 440 million dollars goes for oil industry spare parts and equipment, it added. In the week under review, Iraq exported 14.4 million barrels of oil, or 2.06 million barrels a day, earning an estimated 330.1 million U.S. dollars in revenue at current price. In current phase IX, which runs from December 6, 2000 to June 3, 2001, Iraq has exported 224.7 million barrels of oil, raising an estimated 4.45 billion dollars in revenue, the office said. The total Iraqi oil exports since the beginning of the oil-for- food program in December 1996 now stand at over 2.4 billion barrels, for an estimated revenue of some 43 billion dollars, the office reported. |
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