Iraq Oil: Reserves, Production, and Potential Revenues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 24, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RS21626 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Lawrence Kumins, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Iraq's potential oil wealth remains largely unrealized. Substantial proven reserves exist and there are likely more resources awaiting discovery. But oil production has been slow to recover from the recent war, and many obstacles stand in the way of increasing exports beyond current minimal levels. And refineries are in need of rehabilitation, resulting in shortages of gasoline and cooking fuel within Iraq. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the existence of vast resources suggests easy exploitation and lucrative export earnings that could help fund Iraq's redevelopment. But the sheer resource size masks the difficulty, described in this paper, of generating near-term export revenues that could offset the Bush Administration's $87 billion request for FY2004 supplemental appropriations to fund operations and reconstruction in Iraq. This report will be updated as events warrant.
