Iraq Resumes Oil Production in Majnoon

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq is producing 50,000 barrels of oil a day from the giant Majnoon field in the south for the first time since the end of the active combat phase of the war, an Iraqi oil official said Tuesday.

"Our technical and engineering staff at the Southern Oil Company was able to repair the damage inflicted to Majnoon oil field and it has resumed production," Assem Jihad, head of the oil ministry's information office, told Dow Jones Newswires.

He said production was back to the prewar level of 50,000 barrels a day at Majnoon and the field would be able to produce 100,000 barrels a day in a short time since work is continuing to repair more wells in the field.

The Majnoon field was the target of acts of sabotage and looting that swept the country after the fall of Baghdad in April.

During the rule of Saddam Hussein, the French energy giant Total SA had exclusive negotiating rights for the Majnoon and Bin Umar oilfields in southern Iraq and was hoping to sign a deal once sanctions were lifted.

(more)

http://www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2003/11/11/ap/Business/d7uofmso2.txt

[hang a left]

1. Temporarily...................

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Beetwasher]

2. I give it a couple of days at most

n/t

[IndianaGreen]

4. A couple of more days?

I don't think I am that optimistic.

[Jacobin]

6. Any guess what WON'T be the headline by the weekend?

"Pipeline Blown Up"

Section D, page 26 of the newspaper

[bemildred]

3. The question is how is being moved?

The security situation is much better in the Southern fields, so far anyway,
but without functioning pipeline(s) they are left with the tanker terminal.

[kalazh]

5. Did you notice

the name of the head of information office? I says something doesn't it? We will see

[Scott Lee]

7. That's odd..."Majnoon" in Arabic means "crazy"

Hmmmmm....