Overview

The lifting of the sanctions has opened the way for Oil to be exported. This will, when the pumping operations start, remove the storage pressure that has been crippling the Oil Industry and one of the first positive outlooks will be the increased availability of LPG which the majority of the Iraqi people use for cooking. We would estimate that exports will begin in early June. The delay is in part due to repairs on the pipeline and the need to have open tender for the ships. This will take around 2/3 weeks.

However the lifting of the sanctions has given the Oil Minister another option. He can sell the 8 million barrels of crude held in Turkey. This action will allow pumping operations to work concurrently in the North and South therefore opening up the system so that the refineries can resume normal workings.

Security remains the largest concern facing all sections of society and the Oil Industry in particular. The industry has pulled through 2 conflicts and 12 years of sanctions to remain intact. The recent looting has undone all of that. It is estimated that around 80% of all repairs are the result of looting.

Oil Police are being recruited. This is a commendable start but a total of 9,000 are required and they have managed 220 new recruits trained plus a second batch of 240 recruits under training.

The lifting of the sanctions has also opened up a way to move those equipment / services bought under the Oil for Food programme, trapped in the pipeline by the conflict to be received by the Oil Ministry. This equipment, we believe, will deliver a welcome boost to the Iraq Oil Industry who are in desperate need of tools and basic equipment lost to the looters. Further enquiries are examining ways of resurrecting a number of contracts for rebuilding vital installations that were suspended by the conflict. This work will have a significant positive effect on the Iraqi people's daily lives.

Rumors of smuggling and black marketeering abound. Certainly there is a lively roadside market in vehicle fuels for those who choose not to queue. The prices for the additional service are higher than the gas stations but not significantly.

The importation of LPG and Gasoline continues but not at the same levels and we would expect this to be phased out by the end of the month. It has not made a significant impact. The fuel availability is expected to stabilize around mid late June.

The lines of traffic at petrol stations are fast becoming a fact of life for the average Iraqi. Special arrangements to facilitate vehicle refuelling are also common practice for most UN agencies and NGOs. These are normally negotiated at local level and do not appear to be affecting the price of fuel in the governorates or the availability.

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ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting to the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq and generally to the Inter Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to coordinate and optimise logistics capabilities of humanitarian organisations in large scale emergencies. UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP that is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the unit. UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions that are channeled through WFP. The UNJLC project document for Iraq can be viewed at the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org).