Carroll, a former head of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group's US operations, said that gasoline shortages had been virtually eliminated but a lack of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking fuel remained a problem because low output from the southern oilfields was preventing the restart of the South Gas Processing plant. Carroll estimated that the plant would restart operations by mid June. 'I am extremely confident that the issue of domestic shortages will be over by the end of June,' he said. Product imports will continue until 30 days cover is amassed.

Attention will then turn to reconstruction. Proceeds of oil exports are to be deposited in the Development Fund for Iraq, to be managed first by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and then by a sovereign government. Carroll said that the Oil Ministry would seek to secure a portion of the funds to finance the rehabilitation of the industry, allowing it to work alongside the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR)in reconstruction. 'I expect, in addition to the USACE and KBR handling a part of the rehabilitation and repair, that the ministry itself will begin to apply funds and make investments in both repairing and upgrading existing facilities to make their operations more efficient, safer, and everything else,' Carroll said.

A list of reconstruction priorities will be swiftly drawn up by the advisory board in consultation with the ministry, the state oil companies and the three refiners, Carroll said. 'We are not going to debate for a month about where to get started,' he said. 'We'll undoubtedly reach obvious conclusions - here are the first 10 things to be done, get started and then quibble about some of the other priorities.' Like Oil Ministry chief executive Thamir Ghadhban, he predicted a rapid return of oil sales. Ghadhban is forecasting exports of 1 million barrels a day (b/d) by July.

On more strategic issues, Carroll emphasised the limited nature of the board's role, saying that he would not become involved in the nature of the contracts offered by the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO). Neither would he enter the debate over Iraq's future relationship with OPEC, although he speculated that membership would continue. 'Iraq has been a member since [OPEC's] founding and I think that is something that will remain.'

Carroll said that the board would advise in two main areas. Firstly, it would assist in imposing international standards of transparency and accountability on procurement and sale processes in the industry. Secondly, the board would advise on how Iraq's enormous oil potential could be exploited to provide maximum economic benefit.