IRAQ - Security.

The top priority for the Oil Ministry is to secure the country's oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure in the petroleum industry. Its State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) in early 2005 tendered the design and installation of a pipeline security system. Bids received by March 1 from contractors have since been studied and an award was expected last week. The project involves installation of a security system for underground oil pipelines.

Frequent attacks on the country's often isolated 6,000-kilometre-long network have had a significant impact on export revenues. The Oil Ministry in late 2004 said attacks on oil facilities had cost the country about $8 bn in income. To stem the incidents of sabotage, a special force of 15,000 Iraqis has been trained to protect the network.

Washington's September decision to reallocate $3.3 bn to improve oil facility security has not had the desired effect. The ministry is to take oil pipeline and installation security into its own hands. Last year it to renew a pipeline security contract held by Erinys International of South Africa, because of its inability to prevent attacks. Instead, the 15,000-strong Iraqi force took over from Erinys. However, given the remote location of many installations and the relative inexperience of the local armed forces, attacks on facilities are unlikely to end soon.

Saddam Oil Scandals: An endless number of Iraqi oil scandals - related to deals made by Saddam's regime - has involved business people and former officials from various parts of the world. One of the firms involved is Bayoil of Houston, whose CEO David Chalmers was arrested last month in the US. Charles Pasqua, a former French interior minister, has recently emerged as one of the highest-ranking targets of widening investigations into an Iraqi oil-for-food scandal. This related to a deal under Saddam's regime.

UN, US and French investigators have been examining Iraqi documents which show that Pasqua instructed officials in Baghdad to transfer lucrative oil allocations to an offshore company in order to shield him from criticism. Pasqua's alleged involvement has emerged as inquiries turn to the role of foreign governments in the corruption within the pre-war humanitarian aid programme. France and Russia, which opposed the 2003 invasion, have long been accused in the US of being too close to Saddam's regime. Under the oil-for-food programme, Saddam's Iraq was allowed to sell oil for funds to alleviate shortages of medicines and other supplies created by international sanctions. The flaw in the arrangement was that the regime was able to sell allocations at below market prices to people of its own choosing.

On April 26 Bernard Guillet, Pasqua's diplomatic adviser, was arrested in connection with the inquiry, on the orders of Philippe Courroye, a French investigative judge. (Pasqua has been a central figure in French politics for three decades. Once described as the man who knows all the secrets, he served twice as minister of interior, first in the late 1980s when Jacques Chirac was prime minister and again in the early 1990s. For years French magistrates have probed his financial records and allegations that he received bribes and funds generated by influence-trafficking and other activities, including arms sales. Pasqua, 78, has never been convicted of any wrongdoing. Last September he won a seat in the French Senate. He remains president of the RPF party).

In a joint investigation, the Financial Times and the Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore have revealed that Pasqua "is about to face a fresh set of allegations which focus on his contacts with Iraq under Saddam's regime".