Iraq Set to Pump Less Oil Than Last Year

Iraq Set to Pump Less Oil Than Last Year

Iraq Set to Pump Less Oil Than Last Year
By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Despite President Bush's optimism on Iraq's reconstruction, the country appears set to pump less crude in 2005 than last year's disappointing showing and far less than under Saddam Hussein.

The only bright spot for Iraq's oil sector, hampered by unrelenting insurgent attacks on its infrastructure, is that near-record oil prices have softened the blow by boosting export earnings.
"The general integrity of Iraqi oil infrastructure appears to us to be heading backwards rather than forwards," London-based Barclay's Capital said in a report issued Thursday.

The attacks have made it all but impossible to attract foreign expertise needed to rejuvenate Iraq's rusty oil infrastructure, drill new wells or take any number of steps toward increasing production or exports.

Legal disputes between Iraq's provinces and central government about ownership of oil is also keeping investors away, said Jamal Qureshi, an oil analyst with PFC Energy in Washington.

"Iraq has a lot of potential, but lots of things have to go right," Qureshi said. "We see no sign of that happening."

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