US Admin appointed ex-Shell CEO for Iraq's Ministry of Oil

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA3BV77BFD.html

Sunday, May 4, 2003

The American administrators in Iraq appointed two Iraqis and an American to head up Iraq's Ministry of Oil today.

The appointees include new chief executive officer Thamer Abbas al-Ghadban who was formerly the general director of the ministry, deputy Fadhil Othman, an Iraqi exile formerly involved in the oil business, and American Philip J. Carroll, retired CEO of Shell.

10,500 employees of Iraq's Northern Oil Co. are back at work

Developments in Iraq's Oil Fields

By The Associated Press

THE OIL FIELDS:

"...Engineers were trying to squeeze extra output from a refinery in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where supplies of refined fuels were running low.

The refinery was restarted this week but was still not at capacity, said an oil official from the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. The refined product will be used for domestic consumption.

The official said output from Iraq's southern oil fields is far below capacity but sufficient for local purposes. Extra capacity won't be needed until U.N. sanctions barring exports are lifted, he said.

Steven Wright, another oil reconstruction official, said Iraq is producing about a third of the domestic refined products demand of 400,000 barrels a day. The Basra refinery was producing around 70,000 barrels a day, he said. The Baghdad refinery was producing 35,000 barrels of refined product daily.

Iraq is pumping 125,000 barrels a day, Wright said. About 90,000 barrels are coming from the southern field and 35,000 from the northern fields.

Nearly all the 10,500 employees of Iraq's Northern Oil Co. are back at work, but only 2,500 of the Southern Oil Co.'s 13,000 have reported for duty.

In Washington, Undersecretary of State Alan Larson said ``big decisions'' about the future of Iraq's oil industry should be left to the new Iraqi government. Among the decisions would be whether to privatize the industry, he said..."

US forces have broken into iraqi bank to pay local oil workers

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2992837.stm

BBC News:

1 May, 2003

"...In the city of Kirkuk, US forces have broken into safes of a bank gutted by fire in order to pay local oil workers. Looters had burned the building after they were unable to open the safes. The workers who received the money claimed that due to post-war inflation, the money they received was inadequate. US officials stress that bank officials were the only people who handled the money..."

<  New Confirmation on real reason for Iraq war | Split among Republicans: NeoCons vs. PaleoCons  >