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Azzaman, February 17, 2012
Iraqi Kurds are heavily involved in the smuggling of oil to Iran, an Iraqi legislator has revealed.
Member of Parliament Furat al-Sharaa said Iraqi Kurdistan was the hub of oil smuggling operations.
Sharaa, who is member of the parliament’s energy commission, said the illegal trade was carried out through a fleet of oil tankers.
“The smugglers earn up to $20 million per day,” he said.
Both Iraq and Iran have massive oil reserves and are among the world’s largest oil producers.
Sharaa did not say what type of fuel the smugglers were interested in but earlier reports spoke of mainly crude oil.
Iraq imports fuel from Iran mainly for its power stations.
But Sharaa’s remarks only concerned smuggling originating in southern Iraq. He said the smugglers carried crude oil from southern Iraqi oil fields to Iraqi Kurdistan and then to Iran.
The long distance through which oil tankers travel is an indication of some form of complicity from higher authorizes as the trade would not be possible without their consent.
Larger smuggling operations originate inside Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports estimate the region’s current oil production at about 150,000 barrels a day.
Only a fraction of that amount is exported through Iraqi national pipelines and the rest is said to be smuggled via Iran or Turkey.
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Iraqi Kurds are heavily involved in the smuggling of oil to Iran, an Iraqi legislator has revealed.
Member of Parliament Furat al-Sharaa said Iraqi Kurdistan was the hub of oil smuggling operations.
Sharaa, who is member of the parliament’s energy commission, said the illegal trade was carried out through a fleet of oil tankers.
“The smugglers earn up to $20 million per day,” he said.
Both Iraq and Iran have massive oil reserves and are among the world’s largest oil producers.
Sharaa did not say what type of fuel the smugglers were interested in but earlier reports spoke of mainly crude oil.
Iraq imports fuel from Iran mainly for its power stations.
But Sharaa’s remarks only concerned smuggling originating in southern Iraq. He said the smugglers carried crude oil from southern Iraqi oil fields to Iraqi Kurdistan and then to Iran.
The long distance through which oil tankers travel is an indication of some form of complicity from higher authorizes as the trade would not be possible without their consent.
Larger smuggling operations originate inside Iraqi Kurdistan. Reports estimate the region’s current oil production at about 150,000 barrels a day.
Only a fraction of that amount is exported through Iraqi national pipelines and the rest is said to be smuggled via Iran or Turkey.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
