Iraq loads first crude in six years

Iraq loads first crude in six years

BASRA, Iraq (AFP): Iraq announced Sunday it began for the first time in six years to load crude at its Gulf terminal under a contract with two U.S. firms, in line with a humanitarian deal with the United Nations.

Iraq's oil minister, General Amr Rashid, said 500,000 barrels of oil were already loaded onto the Star of Africa supertanker at Mina al-Bakr terminal under "a contract signed with two US firms, Coastal and D. OIL."

Rashid also told the official Iraqi news agency IRNA during ceremonies at Mina al-Bakr that the ship would leave in the next 48 hours after it is topped up with two million barrels of crude. He did not say where the ship was headed but Mina Al-Bakr is normally used to supply Asian ports.

The Star of Africa and another supertanker, the Leonides, arrived at Mina al-Bakr on Saturday, the official Iraqi news agency reported. The Leonides will be loaded later.

Iraq began exporting oil to international markets on Wednesday after it overcame some technical problems with its pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Yurmatalik where oil is shipped to Europe.

Export

Under the deal, Iraq can export two billion dollars of oil every six months in order to buy food and medicine as well as defray UN costs and pay compensation to the victims of the invasion of Kuwait.

A review of Iraq's output quotas is due every three months under the deal enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 986. A network of 200 UN monitors will report on whether there are any violations of the agreement.

The oil-for-food deal was signed on May 20 but it was held up by disputes over its implementation.

It is the first easing of sanctions since they were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 1990.