100,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil a day unaccounted for in Iraq

[RiverStone]

International Herald Tribune
5/13/07

Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft U.S. government report.

Using an average of $50 a barrel, the report said the discrepancy was valued at $5 million to $15 million daily.

The report does not give a final conclusion on what happened to the missing fraction of the roughly two million barrels pumped by Iraq each day, but the findings are sure to reinforce longstanding suspicions that smugglers, insurgents and corrupt officials control significant parts of the country's oil industry.

The report also covered alternative explanations for the billions of dollars' worth of discrepancies, including the possibility that Iraq has been consistently overstating its oil production.

more:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/13/asia/oil.php

[Brigid]

1. More "creative accounting," apparently.

And I wonder how much money is unaccounted for in Iraq? I heard $9 billion once, but that was some time ago. And don't forget that we're literally moving tons of cash into a war zone on a regular basis. Or did somebody wise up and put a stop to that when it became public? :banghead:

[IDemo]

2. Or, it may be siphoned off, literally

http://www.paulchefurka.ca/Iraq%20and%20Saudi%20Arabia.html

[shraby]

3. That much oil would have to involve tankers

of some sort..vehicular or ships. Not easy to hide without someone seeing them filling up.

[IDemo]

4. The pipeline referenced in the above link would easily handle that amount

Up to 1.7 million barrels per day.

[FogerRox]

5. Looks like the IPSA has been converted to nat gas

Saipem has won an onshore construction contract to convert the existing East-West (EWG-1) pipeline from oil to gas transport. The renovated pipeline will deliver gas to the industrial zone in Yanbu, located 350 km north of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. The lump sum turnkey contract was awarded by the Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco and requires decruding, cleaning and purging the existing 56-inch-diameter, 960-kilometre-long EWG-1 pipeline. The contract also calls for detailed design, fabrication, construction, installation and commissioning of new sections of EWG-1 line and related communication facilities. The completion of activities is expected in early 2008.

http://www.saipem.eni.it/comunicati/inglese/pr2005/pr%2005-12-02_off_on.htm

[Sydnie]

6. Can you say "strategic EXXON reserve"?

I knew that you could.

[Jim Warren]

7. Yeah, posted last week

Do the math on that little puppy, with a capital B.

[Horse with no Name]

8. I would venture to say--that included with this and the missing Iraqi money

as well as the missing US money--that these war profiteers have made off with trillions of tax free dollars.
There should be a law against that...uh wait...there should be a DOJ that would ENFORCE a law against that.
We are totally screwed.