Oil missing

"Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq’s declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report.
Using an average of $50 a barrel, the [Government Accountability Office] report said the discrepancy was valued at $5 million to $15 million daily.
The report does not give a final conclusion on what happened to the missing fraction of the roughly two million barrels pumped by Iraq each day, but the findings are sure to reinforce longstanding suspicions that smugglers, insurgents and corrupt officials control significant parts of the country’s oil industry.
The report also covered alternative explanations for the billions of dollars worth of discrepancies, including the possibility that Iraq has been consistently overstating its oil production.
. . . Virtually the entire economy of Iraq is dependent on oil revenues."

source
Glanz, James. (The New York Times). Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, U.S. Study Says. May 12, 2007.

posted: wednesday, may 16, 2007, 5:49 AM ET

tags: iraq oil