Iraq has lost about $11.4 billion due to damage to oil sector infrastructure and lost revenue since petroleum exports resumed after the U.S.-led invasion two years ago, an Iraqi oil ministry spokesman said Sunday.
Assem Jihad told Dow Jones Newswires that there had been 300 acts of sabotage against Iraqi oil installations between June 2003 when Iraq resumed exports and May 31. He said 70 acts of sabotage took place in the first five months of 2005.
Jihad said most of the sabotage took place in the northern oil installations preventing the country from exporting around 400,000 barrels a day from its northern oil fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Before the U.S.-led invasion in April 2003, Baghdad used to export 800,000 barrels a day from the northern field around Kirkuk. Iraq has resumed sporadic pumping of crude from the Kirkuk fields to Ceyhan over the last six weeks.