BAIJI, Iraq, 6 August 2003 — The US boss for Iraq, Paul Bremer, toured yesterday the Baiji oil refinery, the largest in the country, located on the frontlines of the guerrilla insurgency against the coalition forces north of Tikrit.
In an indication of how dangerous the area is, a US civilian contractor was killed in a roadside explosion on the road between Tikrit and Baiji at 1:00 p.m., just as Bremer and his security detail were traveling by Blackhawk helicopters to the refinery, central to US plans for rebuilding the country.
The plant’s director, Riad Abdel Ghassab, and employees greeted the dapper Bremer, accompanied by Iraq’s acting Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban, telling him parts of the refinery was in disrepair and in dire need of investment.
At one point, Ghassab showed Bremer the northern portion of the refinery that had been out of operation for 11 years.
Asked why the section no longer functioned, Ghassab told reporters, “sanctions,” in a reference to the trade embargo on Iraq enforced by the international community after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait 13 years ago. The embargo was lifted only this past May after a US-led invasion of Iraq crushed Saddam’s regime.
Beneath the rusting metalworks, Ghassab told Bremer the thousands of employees here needed to be paid more, due to the delicate nature of their jobs refining Iraq’s crude into gasoline, fuel oil and kerosene.
The US civilian administrator also heard about problems at the refinery from Hanna Jaddar, a chemical engineer, who complained to Bremer about salaries and safety and security amid the aging and out of date equipment.
While not directly acknowledging her safety concerns, Bremer, dressed in his trademark blue blazer, listened patiently and told her his administration was reconsidering its pay rates for state employees and would announce a new salary scale he hoped within two months. “We know the current system isn’t fair and we’ll fix that,” he answered, amid the roar of machines and noxious smell of fuel.
An aide to Bremer called the trip an assessment of the refinery.
