The OPEC oil cartel's member states should be careful not to infringe on Iraq's interests in their operations, Iraq's ambassador to Russia warned.
OPEC's policies should protect both oil producers and consumers without unwarranted changes in price, Ambassador Muzhir al-Duri told the Interfax news agency late Wednesday, July 25.
However, Saudi Arabia's offer to make up the shortfall and keep prices stable as Iraq suspended its oil exports for a month had drawn Iraq's ire, Duri said.
"Iraq's share or the role it plays in that organization cannot be compensated for," the ambassador complained.
Iraq cut off its UN-supervised oil exports on June 4 after the UN Security Council rolled over the oil-for-food program, imposed after the Gulf War, for one month while it considered the new set of sanctions.
But the withdrawal of Baghdad's 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) exports—five percent of world production—from world markets has failed to spark a feared surge in prices.
In fact oil prices have fallen since Iraq's move, amid expectations that the UN-Iraq stand-off would soon be resolved, and amid OPEC reassurances that in any case it can make up the shortfall. — (AFP)
© Agence France Presse
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
