US-led coalition has no intention to allow Iraqi oil to flood the market

A senior US oil executive advising the Iraqi oil ministry on future policy said that the US-led coalition administering Iraq had no intention to allow Iraqi oil to flood the market and depress prices, dismissing suggestions that Iraq was set to make a break with OPEC and pump crude at will.
"I don't see flooding the market with oil as something that will happen during the coalition presence here," said Gary Vogler, a former ExxonMobil executive who is a member of the US-appointed oil advisory board. "The Iraqis want to maximize the revenue to Iraq and in order to do that, they will have to balance supply and demand," Vogler told inside the ornate former presidential palace that has become the headquarters of the US Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. "They know that flooding the market will not allow them to do that," he said.

The question of whether or not Iraq, a founder member of OPEC and holder of the world's second biggest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, will be allowed to remain in the producer group has been one of the most frequently asked questions since the US-led war ousted Saddam Hussein and his Baathist regime. Vogler insisted that the decision would be left to the Iraqis.
"Whether or not Iraq is going to be in or out of OPEC, it is up to a future government to decide," said Vogler. "We feel it is not our, the US decision, whether Iraq is part of OPEC or not. We will go out of our way to make sure we do not prejudice that decision," said Vogler.

Phillip Carroll, the former Shell Oil executive now heading the oil advisory committee was quoted in the Washington Post as saying Iraq might best be served by exporting as much oil as it can and disregarding quotas set by OPEC.
Iraq was not party to OPEC's quota system while it was under UN sanctions, which were lifted by the Security Council.