Iraqi oil exports cut groundless – spokesman

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An official spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry on Sunday dismissed reports by some news agencies that the country’s oil exports via the Basra port were cut, adding they are still at their rate. “The Oil Ministry is exporting 1.848 million barrels per day (bpd), which is the standard export rate,” Asim Jihad told IraqiNews.com. Reuters had quoted a navigation agent that Iraq’s oil exports via the port of Basra declined on Saturday by 67.5 percent from 1.7 million bpd to 552,000 bpd. “The export rate via the Turkish port of Ceyhan revolves around 400,000 bpd and 1.848 million bpd via Basra without any reductions despite the poor weather conditions,” Jihad noted. He said that the Iraqi Oil Ministry has a surplus of eight million bpd ready for export.   AmR (P)/SR 1