Senate Ban on Iraqi Oil Could Put US Refiners, Markets in a

Oil Daily, The, April, 2002

Senate Ban on Iraqi Oil Could Put US Refiners, Markets in a Bind

The US Senate's plan to ban crude oil imports from Iraq is putting heavy moral pressure on US refiners to stop buying Iraq crude, is likely to cause significant supply dislocations, and could push oil prices higher, traders and analysts said Friday.

A unilateral US import embargo on Iraqi crude could also hurt Baghdad's oil exports under the United Nations' oil-for- food program, which pays for food and medicine for the Iraqi population, analysts warn.

In a surprise show of bipartisan backing, the Senate on Thursday decided to add the ban as an amendment to the energy bill, in protest of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's financial support for families of Palestine suicide bombers (OD...