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`Iraq has potential to become world`s no.1 oil producer`
New York, May 12: Iraq could produce as much as 12 million barrels of oil daily, becoming the world`s number one oil producer, a former Iraqi official said.
New York, May 12: Iraq could produce as much as 12 million barrels of oil daily, becoming the world's number one oil producer, a former Iraqi official said.
Besides, bringing oil to ground in Iraq is much cheaper than in Saudi Arabia because of geological reasons, Issam al-Chalabi, Iraq's oil minister from 1987 to 90 and a private
energy consultant since in Amman, Jordan, told Time magazine.
For Iraq to get production up to 6 million barrel daily, "we will be talking (of an investment) in the region of 30 billion to 40 billion dollars," he said. The amount of oil that Iraq brings to market will not just determine living standards of Iraqis but affect everything from Russian economy to the price US pay for gasoline, from stability of Saudi Arabia to Iran's future, analysts said.
Not only does Iraq have the potential to become the world's largest producer, but no other country can do it as cheaply, the magazine said. That's because of geological reasons, Iraq boasts the world's most prolific wells. The average cost of bringing a barrel of oil out of the ground in the us is about 10 dollars. In Saudi Arabia, it's about 2.50 dollars while in Iraq, it's less than one dollar, Fadhil Chalabi, executive director of centre for global energy studies in London and ex-under secretary of oil in Iraq, said.
Most of Iraq's known oil deposits are waiting to be developed and that's why everyone has cast a covetous eye on the country, said the magazine.
Saudi Arabia, the country that everyone thinks is synonymous with wealth is deep in debt. A few years from now, when Iraq begins to produce serious quantities of oil for export, it may be just enough to send the price down and put the Saudis in even deeper hock, time said. Bureau Report
For Iraq to get production up to 6 million barrel daily, "we will be talking (of an investment) in the region of 30 billion to 40 billion dollars," he said. The amount of oil that Iraq brings to market will not just determine living standards of Iraqis but affect everything from Russian economy to the price US pay for gasoline, from stability of Saudi Arabia to Iran's future, analysts said.
Not only does Iraq have the potential to become the world's largest producer, but no other country can do it as cheaply, the magazine said. That's because of geological reasons, Iraq boasts the world's most prolific wells. The average cost of bringing a barrel of oil out of the ground in the us is about 10 dollars. In Saudi Arabia, it's about 2.50 dollars while in Iraq, it's less than one dollar, Fadhil Chalabi, executive director of centre for global energy studies in London and ex-under secretary of oil in Iraq, said.
Most of Iraq's known oil deposits are waiting to be developed and that's why everyone has cast a covetous eye on the country, said the magazine.
Saudi Arabia, the country that everyone thinks is synonymous with wealth is deep in debt. A few years from now, when Iraq begins to produce serious quantities of oil for export, it may be just enough to send the price down and put the Saudis in even deeper hock, time said. Bureau Report