Canal Shows Halt in Oil Production

CAIRO — Persian Gulf oil-producing states have all but halted exports of oil because of the war between Iraq and the U.S.-led allies, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority said today.

“Fifty-one vessels have crossed the Suez Canal Monday, among them only one oil tanker coming from the gulf region,” Chairman Mohammed Ezzat Adel said in a statement.

“This means that gulf oil-producing states have stopped pumping oil since the war erupted last Thursday,” he said.

Adel also denied a news agency report that the Suez Canal Authority had swept the canal for mines that might have been planted by pro-Iraqi terrorists attempting to block navigation.