KUWAIT OIL UPDATE -- MARCH 24, 2003

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