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| Iraq |
| Danger Recedes at Key Southern Iraqi Oil Facilities |
| 2003-03-26 |
| U.S.-led forces were readying Iraq's vital Gulf crude terminal for export on Wednesday while only three wells burned in the vast southern oil region, calming fears Saddam Hussein would destroy his country's oil wealth. According to the U.S. military, the logistics are now in place for Baghdad to resume crude exports even as war rages throughout the country and as the United Nations prepares to modify its oil-for-food program. And all but three of seven oil wells set alight by Iraqi troops at the giant southern Rumaila field have been snuffed out by the weather and a fast-acting Kuwaiti team of firefighters. "It will now take three to seven days to put them out," a Kuwaiti official said, cutting back an earlier estimated timetable of one month for the operation in the field dotted with 500 wellheads. "We have received news that three wells have extinguished themselves because of the dust and weather conditions," he told Reuters. That must of been one hell of a sandstorm! A team of Kuwaiti firefighters, who won their stripes battling more than 700 oil fires set by Iraqi troops departing their country in 1991, put out the first fire on Monday. The area of the Rumaila fields, near the border with Kuwait, was deserted, Chief Kuwaiti firefighter Aisa Bou Yabes said, with no sign of armed Iraqis that had been reported in other parts of the 50-mile-long (80-km-long) oilfield. "The area where we are working is under British control. We hear news of problems, but we don't see anything," he said. "We even hear the Kuwaiti firefighting team was taken hostage, but we are alive and well." I guess he would know if he was taken hostage. Secured by U.S.-led forces in the early hours of battle, Rumaila is the main oil artery to Iraq's key Gulf terminal of Mina al-Bakr, which escaped attempted sabotage and stands ready to resume operations. "Everything is good to go...," said Commander Kevin Aandahl of the U.S. Navy, referring to the possibility of restarting operations from the facility that exported more than half of Iraq's U.N.-supervised oil sales. Obviously, this is proof that it was indeed all about the oil. He said the main task now was to safeguard the facility. "We want to make sure, most of all, that the situation is secure and there are no bad guys around," he said. Swift action by U.S. troops thwarted Baghdad's scheme to wreak havoc on its oil export terminal, said Aandahl. "In some areas of the oil platforms there were preparations made by Iraqi forces to blow those terminals," he said. "They had explosives on there...they were wired in some places." We got there too fast for them to complete work. Over the border in Kuwait, there were further signs oil production was returning to normal in the region. Kuwait resumed pumping 27,000 bpd of oil from its northern Ratqa field and said it may gradually restore output of 85,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its main northern fields halted well before the outbreak of war last week. Watch oil prices drop when this word gets out. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 Sandstorm had winds approaching a Cat. 2 hurricane. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-03-26 20:37:34 |
| #3 According to the U.S. military, the logistics are now in place for Baghdad to resume crude exports even as war rages throughout the country and as the United Nations prepares to modify its oil-for-food program. Screw that. Some other group can take over exporting crude and feeding the population; one not as corrupt and bureaucratic as the U.N. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-03-26 14:53:32 |
| #2 *blinks* The sandstorm is THAT BAD? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-26 13:17:03 |
| #1 There was a report on the radio a few minutes ago that columns of bad guys were moving south to counterattack in al-Faw. Sure hope the guys upstairs are on them... And I don't mean the angels. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-03-26 13:15:17 |