NEWS

WASHINGTON, May 31 (HalliburtonWatch.org) - Iraq sold just over $10 billion in crude oil since the start of the war in March 2003, says the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) website. The CPA deposited a total of $10.004 billion into its Development Fund for Iraq, an account established by the United Nations Security Council to hold the proceeds from Iraqi oil sales. The fund was established on May 26, 2003. One month ago, the CPA reported that Iraq sold $8.27 billion in crude oil since the start of the war. Click here to view the CPA's spreadsheet of Iraq's oil finances in xls format, updated weekly. The United States and Britain have asked the Security Council to return to Iraq full control over its oil resources, beginning in July, but with continued international monitoring of how it spends the oil money. The expected handover of power to the Iraqi people in July would still require the interim government to keep depositing the proceeds of its oil and gas sales into the UN's Development Fund for Iraq, where it could continue to be monitored by an international watchdog agency.