US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT1064

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 001064 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR TASK FORCE 1 - EB ACTION OFFICER 
STATE ALSO FOR EB/ESC AND NEA/ARP 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
USDOC FOR 4520/MAC/AME 
DOE FOR IE - L. COBURN AND C. WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 1.6 X1, X5, X6 
TAGS: EPET, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT OIL UPDATE -- MARCH 24, 2003 
 
REF: KUWAIT 1049 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: DCM Frank C. Urbancic for reasons 1.5. (B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) A detailed breakdown of Kuwait's oil production is not 
yet available for today, but Embassy is told output from 0500 
03/23/03 to 0500 03/24/03 reached 2.42 million barrels. 
 
2. (C) Kuwaiti firefighters apparently put out one of the 
fires burning in Iraq's Rumaila oilfield today, and they are 
prepared to continue the effort.  Embassy is working with 
officials of the Kuwait Oil Company and the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers (USACE) to ensure the KOC team is working in as 
safe and secure an environment as possible.  USACE (working 
under the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian 
Assistance) will also coordinate KOC efforts with those of 
U.S. contractors to combat the blazes. 
 
3. (C) A senior KOC official said that part of the 
firefighting effort is the resumption of production from the 
Ratqa field (which straddles the Kuwait Iraq border to become 
the Rumaila field).  By increasing production, pressure in 
the reservoir will drop making the fires less dangerous. 
Ratqa reportedly made 15,000 barrels today and will rise to 
30,000 bpd by tomorrow. 
JONES