US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4070

UNCLAS ANKARA 004070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/NGA, EB, EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, EPET, PREL, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: IRAQI SOMO-DELTA PETROLEUM BARTER DEAL UNDERWAY 
 
REF: REF A) ANKARA 3731 B) ANKARA 3537 
 
 
1. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
 
2. (SBU) Delta Petroleum and the MFA confirmed to us that the 
GOT had given final approval for the pending SOMO-Delta 
barter deal (reftels), under which SOMO will export fuel oil 
to Turkey in return for Turkish benzine (gasoline) and LPG. 
Delta Petroleum officials told us June 25 that 33 trucks 
crossed the border into Iraq on June 21 without incident, 
loaded Iraqi fuel oil at the Bayji oil refinery on June 
24-25, and began the return to Turkey on June 25.  (Note: 
Delta has complained of local Kurdish groups charging an exit 
tax from Iraq, which will be reported septel). 
 
 
3. (SBU) The Delta official said he estimates that Iraqi 
refineries running at full capacity would produce 
approximately 90,000 tonnes of fuel oil per day.  Since the 
refineries were or likely soon would be running at about half 
capacity, they would be producing about 45,000 tonnes of fuel 
oil per day.  The Delta official estimated that Turkey's 
trucking industry had capacity to import (for export to third 
countries) roughly 10,000 tonnes of Iraqi fuel oil per day; 
the rest, he said, Iraq would have to export through the 
south.  The official noted that Delta was paying for the fuel 
oil with Turkish LPG and gasoline, which the company had been 
shipping to Iraq without incident for several weeks. 
PEARSON