BAGHDAD/DUBAI (Reuters):
IRAQ WILL keep its crude exports rolling while the United Nations debates a "proper" renewal of the Iraq oil-for-food deal over the next nine days, an Iraqi oil industry source said yesterday.
Baghdad has previously halted UN supervised exports when the scheme was extended for less than 180 days.
"Iraq will continue its oil sales as usual and Iraq will wait for the Security Council to finish its debate on a proper extension of the oil for food deal," the source told Reuters, asking not to be named.
At least one customer is expecting to load crude oil yesterday, while others said they had received verbal assurances from Baghdad that their tankers would not be left empty.
"There are ships firmly nominated and confirmed up to December 4 and (state marketer) SOMO has to load them," said a major buyer of Iraqi barrels.
Iraq has yet formally to respond to the nine-day extension, said Iraq's UN Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri.
"It will have bad effects on the Iraqi people," Aldouri told Reuters. "This might endanger the reputation of the United Nations. They should not play with the lives of people just like that because there is a political interest of one of the states."
Shipping sources said no tankers were currently loading at either the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan or Iraq's Mina al Bakr terminal in the Gulf where bad weather was reported.
Iraqi exports have been running at about 1.2 million barrels per day well below Iraq's sustainable rate of 2.2 million barrels per day under the latest six-month phase of the deal, which expired at midnight Monday.
Washington persuaded the UN Security Council Monday to extend the oil-for-food deal until December 4 after failing to get the plan renewed for three months rather than the usual six.
