[Vision2020] Global Policy Forum: Oil In Iraq

[Sunil Ramalingam]

My stars, Ted, next someone might suggest that one factor for the war was 
giving our companies the cookie jar!

Just one factor though, along with allowing our troops to move out of their 
bases in Saudi Arabia and into the new permanent bases we continue to build 
in Iraq, and other reasons not appropriate for sharing with the public 
before launching the war.

Sunil


>From: "Ted Moffett" <starbliss at gmail.com>
>To: "MoscowVision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: [Vision2020] Global Policy Forum: Oil In Iraq
>Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:48:55 -0700
>
>All:
>
>They appear to have their facts wrong about "proven oil reserves" in Iraq
>being second in the world, given Canada now has the recognized second
>largest oil reserves in the world by the oil industry.  But if Iraq's 
>proven
>reserves turn out to be 200+ billion barrels, this would surpass Canada's
>current recognized total of proven reserves.  But Canada's oil sands are
>more expensive to extract and process into oil, thus per barrel Iraq oil is
>cheaper to produce.  What is interesting at this web site is the
>documentation of the moves to control Iraq's oil, now and in the past, by
>various interests that it is doubtful have Iraqi democracy foremost in mind
>as the primary decider of the fate of Iraqi oil:
>
>http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/irqindx.htm
>
>Iraq has the world's second largest proven oil reserves. According to oil
>industry experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq's reserves to
>200+ billion barrels of high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce.
>The four giant firms located in the US and the UK have been keen to get 
>back
>into Iraq, from which they were excluded with the nationalization of 1972.
>During the final years of the Saddam era, they envied companies from 
>France,
>Russia, China, and elsewhere, who had obtained major contracts. But UN
>sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK) kept those contracts
>inoperable. Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, much has
>changed. In the new setting, with Washington running the show, "friendly"
>companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth
>hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades. The Iraqi
>constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language
>that guarantees a major role for foreign companies. Negotiators hope soon 
>to
>complete deals on Production Sharing Agreements that will give the 
>companies
>control over dozens of fields, including the fabled super-giant Majnoon. 
>But
>first the Parliament must pass a new oil sector investment law allowing
>foreign companies to assume a major role in the country. The US has
>threatened to withhold funding as well as financial and military support if
>the law does not soon pass. Although the Iraqi cabinet endorsed the draft
>law in July 2007, Parliament has balked at the legislation. Most Iraqis
>favor continued control by a national company and the powerful oil workers
>union strongly opposes de-nationalization. Iraq's political future is very
>much in flux, but oil remains the central feature of the political
>landscape.
>-----------
>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett


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