By Hassan Hafidh
Dow Jones Newswires, 12 June 2007
Iraq is planning to buy some 5,000 tons a day of gas oil, gasoline and kerosene from Kuwait to meet growing domestic shortages of these three oil products, a senior official with the State Oil Marketing Organization, or SOMO, said Monday.
A delegation from SOMO is expected to be in Kuwait this week to conclude the deal with the Kuwaiti Petroleum Co. The deal will include 2,000 tons a day of gas oil to supply power stations, 2,000 tons a day of gasoline and 1,000 tons a day of kerosene, the official told Dow Jones.
Supply of these products is expected to start at the beginning of July, he added.
The official, however, didn't give details of the value of the deal, but the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite television said it is worth more than $150 million.
Iraq, which sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves, has been suffering from acute shortages of oil products since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Iraq's main three refineries - Doura, Beiji and Basra - are working at half capacity because of lack of maintenance and investment as well as the deteriorating security situation in the country.
The Iraqi oil ministry is planning to build three large refineries in the country to meet growing oil products demand. One refinery is to be built in northern Iraq, the second in the middle of the country and the third in the south.
The government is waiting for an oil and gas law to be enacted before signing deals with foreign companies to build these three refineries.
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Citation: Hassan Hafidh. "Iraq Plans To Buy 5,000 Tons/Day Oil Products From Kuwait - SOMO," Dow Jones Newswires, 12 June 2007.
Original URL: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070611\ACQDJON200706110323DOWJONESDJONLINE000061.htm
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