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Iraq exports some 2 million barrels a day; global production 76 million bpd
by The Associated Press
Facts about Iraq oil production and the possible fallout from a war:
• Capacity: Iraq claims production capacity of 3.5 million barrels a day. That level is questioned by outside experts in light of severe damage to oil fields and facilities in the 1991 Gulf War and Iraq's earlier war with Iran.
• Production: 2 million to 2.5 million barrels a day. Major oil producing fields are the Kirkuk in the north, East Baghdad field in the central region and the Rumaila fields in the south.
• Exports: Average of just under 2 million barrels a day in 2002, not counting smuggled oil. Exports administered under a U.N. an "oil for food" program.
• Reserves: Proven reserves estimated at 112 billion barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia. Oil resources could be three times that because vast areas have yet to be explored.
Worldwide oil • Global production: 76 million barrels a day, about a third of that from the Middle East.
• U.S. imports: 11 million barrels a day of oil and oil products, 56 percent of consumption.
Response to oil disruption • Other producers have up to 5.5 million barrels of excess capacity and have signaled they will increase production to replace lost Iraqi oil.
• Emergency stocks: Industrial nations hold nearly 4 billion barrels to be used in response to a supply disruption. This represents 114 days of net imports to those countries, according to the International Energy Agency.
• U.S. emergency stocks: 592 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of salt caverns on the Texas-Louisiana coast.
• When triggered: President Bush can ordered a draw on emergency stocks if supplies are significantly disrupted. Maximum drawdown is 4.7 million barrels a day, but actual release is likely to be much less.
• How long will stocks last: A draw of 2 million barrels a day from the U.S. reserve would counter 286 days of expected disruptions, the administration has said.
Potential trouble • War goes badly, drags on: Global oil shortfall might not be adequately replaced by other producers. Persian Gulf producers may face political pressures and not act.
• Venezuelan production: If month-long political strife continues, country's 3 million barrels a day may not be available.
• Saddam Hussein's response: Iraqi oil fields may be set afire as Saddam did in Kuwait as he withdrew during the Gulf War. Saudi and other Persian Gulf fields may be sabotaged.
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