SHUNEH (Jordan), June 21: Iraq will resume exports from its oil fields next month, its acting oil minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting here of the World Economic Forum.

“I hope next month”, Mr Ghadhban told reporters when asked when Iraq will resume exporting from oil fields and not only from storage.

He added that he was unable to give an exact date. “We are now formulating a new marketing policy, it will take a few days. I cannot give an exact date on when exports will resume,” he said.

Mr Ghadhban also did not specify the volumes expected to be initially exported: “I cannot give any figure.”

His comments were in contrast to claims earlier by the head of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization, Mohammed al-Juburi, that exports would begin on Sunday through the pipeline to Turkey.

Mr Ghadhban clarified Juburi’s statement.

He explained on Sunday Iraq would only begin loading tankers with crude oil that has been stored in the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan for at least two months.

Meanwhile in Dead Sea, US banking giant Citigroup is in discussions to participate in the rebuilding of Iraq, senior vice-chairman William Rhodes said on Saturday.

“Obviously we would like to help in any way we could,” Mr Rhodes told reporters at an extraordinary meeting of the World Economic Forum in Jordan.

“There are discussions for Citigroup to do something in Iraq. I think it’s fair to say we are interested in helping and leave it at that,” said Mr Rhodes, who is also chairman of Citicorp and Citibank.

US banks, including J.P Morgan, have met with officials from the treasury department to discuss a role in the rebuilding of the Iraqi financial system, a banker said.

Financing trade, systems for payments, currency exchange and retail banking were among topics discussed.—AFP/Reuters