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Unaccounted oil production and the absence of metering (from 2003 to 2007): 100,000 to 300,000 barrels/day unexplained

The US Government Accountability Office reported in 2007 that State Department figures for Iraqi oil production were 100,000 to 300,000 barrels per day higher than US Department of Energy data, attributing the gap to inadequate metering, re-injection, corruption, theft and sabotage, worth about $1.8 to 5.5bn per year. The Iraq Study Group (December 2006) noted there was "no metering system for the oil" and cited expert estimates of 150,000 to 500,000 barrels per day stolen. International auditors (IAMB/KPMG) had repeatedly flagged the lack of metering from 2004.

Period
From 2003 to 2007
Sector
Oil and gasUpstream production / export metering
Kind of case
Audit finding
Jurisdiction
More than one jurisdiction

How the money moved, according to the sources

This account is the one given by the sources listed on this page. It is not the finding of a court.

Without meters at wells, pipelines and export terminals, volumes can be diverted (theft, smuggling, under-recording) without an audit trail.

What happened

No prosecutions tied to the unexplained volumes. Metering was installed only gradually after 2008.

Open questions

  • Year-by-year reconciliation of production, exports and domestic refining (SOMO, MoO, EITI) from 2003 to 2012.
  • IAMB/KPMG audit statements on metering (from 2004 to 2011).

People and companies

The table lists everyone this case names, with their legal status on the date shown. A status in this case does not carry over to any other case, and an accusation is not a conviction. How to read the status.

This case does not name any person or company. It rests on figures and institutions.

Sources

These are the documents on which this case rests. Each quote is given in the language of the document.
  1. US Government Accountability Office18 July 2007Audit reportTier A

    Rebuilding Iraq: Serious Challenges Impair Efforts to Restore Iraq's Oil Sector (GAO-07-1107T)

    Inadequate metering, re- injection, corruption, theft, and sabotage account for the discrepancy
    Our copyOriginalSHA-256 e2a6d16ef3a9
  2. Iraq Study Group (GPO)6 December 2006Report by a non-governmental organisation or research centreTier C

    The Iraq Study Group Report

    There is no metering system for the oil.
    Our copyOriginalSHA-256 f17013553081
  3. CBS News (Robert Riggs)8 February 2007Press reportTier D

    Meters Cost Iraq Billions In Stolen Oil

    between 200,000 and 500,000 barrels a day is probably unaccounted for
    Original

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