Written question asked by Llew Smith (Labour) on Monday, 28 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 July 2004. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 July 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the oil output in Iraq was being metered up to the point of the dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Answer: Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the oil output in Iraq was being metered up to the point of the dissolution of the Coalition Provisional Authority. [181758] Mr. Rammell: When the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) took office there were no functioning meters in the Iraqi oil system. Successive UK members of the CPA oil team had been pressing for meters to be installed as a matter of urgency, but as of 28 June-- when the CPA dissolved--the issue remained outstanding. However oil exports, either by pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey or by tanker through the Arabian Gulf, are metered as they pass into the receiving tanks.

Secondary information