Islamic State raking in $50 mil a month in oil earnings

500 million is not that much, and I bet most of it goes to pay off cronies in there system.

$500 million from oil and "hundreds of millions" from taxes/extortion.....

One could easily state that ISIS has a GDP of about $1billion....and for a state that devotes the bulk of its resources to, essentially, its military industrial complex, these sorts of revenues are nothing to scoff at.

This according to U.S. officials?

Just bomb the extraction points. Hopefully the Russians will do what the Americans can't or won't.

@descendent Just bomb the extraction points. Hopefully the Russians will do what the Americans can't or won't.

Just like Saddam did in Kuwait? Pretty harsh suggestion.

"IS sells the crude to smugglers for discounted prices, sometimes $35 per barrel but as low as $10 a barrel in some cases, compared to just under $50 a barrel on international markets"

You would think IS would wise up and put on a more international face like Baby Assad and the Iranian Ayatollah so they can also get $50 a barrel...

The Islamic State rakes in up to $50 million a month from selling crude from oilfields under its control in Iraq and Syria

Those buying the oil often wire the payments to female IS members in Istanbul and Ankara — on the presumption that women will draw less attention — and the money is later hand-carried into Iraq or Syria, said one of the officials, the head of one of Iraq’s top counterterrorism agencies.

Question: $50 million a month from selling crude — and the money is later hand-carried into Iraq or Syria?

Try looking for the Gucci bags? Sure looks like ISIS is the present day form of 'Thunderdome'.

So, 30,000 barrels a day to Turkey, at 100 barrels per truck about 300 trucks a day, and no one noticed? And can't stop the tide?

( http://trucktanks.com/waste-oil-trucks-for-sale/ 3,400 gallons. 4000 gallons -> 95.2 barrels.)

One more reason to get off of oil.

How does one 'smuggle' 30,000 barrels PER DAY, without Turkish authorities noticing anything?

What is Russia, Syria's ally, doing about the problem?

"Islamic State... part of a well-run industry"

War is an extremely profitable business. Good luck trying to stop it!! ;-)

@BurningBush Dear US and Turkish 'officials'

I suggest you look at a map of Kuwait. Look how small it seems on the map. It's a country with as many police operating under cover as any in the world. It's a country on the constant lookout for oil smugglers, yet oil smuggling still goes on there, sometimes under the full watch of those paid to stop it. Smuggling is a reality. It's a business where blind eyes are turned and money passed back and forth including into the hands of government officials, and a business that's much easier to conduct when there's a foggy conflict like this.

It could well be both the Turks and US have some involvement in the smuggling, but I know folding this all under some contrived conspiracy theory makes it easier for some to understand.

Glad to see that some posters have accepted that this is actually happening.

It is a good bet that it is being allowed to continue for all kinds of reasons. Here are five.

a. You don't want to destroy valuable infrastructure that could help people in this region if things ever do get resolved. b. That cheap oil is going, almost certainly to an ally or allies in the area. c. All of that transport and financing is almost certainly being monitored every step of the way, revealing more about Daesh, its leadership, its sympathizers, and its beneficiaries. d The amount of money is not huge, but it is occupying and centralizing Daesh efforts. e. The technology and equipment gets older day by day, keeping pressure on Daesh leadership to maintain contact with outsiders.

Anybody with half a brain who has read DUNE knows that the spice is powerful, but it is a burden.