Iraqi Oil Sector 'Doing Nothing' To Prepare For Y2K

Iraq's oil industry is not prepared to deal with the millennium bug and may be forced to shut down production and exports at the turn of the year, according to an industry source in Baghdad. The source said Iraqi oil officials are aware of the year 2000 computer problem but have decided to avoid the multi-million dollar cost of dealing with it. Asked what the oil ministry was doing to counter the Y2K changeover, the source said, "They are doing nothing." There was no immediate comment from the oil ministry. "There is awareness of Y2K but consultancy is very expensive. The alternative is to lose production over the millennium," the source said. He said Iraqi crude pumping stations and export facilities were likely to be hit by the problem and engineers would have to deal with disruptions as necessary. "Any processing controllers by micro-processors such as distribution control systems or process logic controller (PLC) in computers manufactured prior to 1996 - like the ones the Iraqis have - will be unsafe to run any chemical or petro-chemical processes during the 2000 transition," the source added. "That means most of Iraq's refinery, fertilizing plants and gas plants will have to make a decision on shutting down the process or risking the effects of Y2K on their systems." Process pneumatic systems in some refineries would not be affected, he added.