Thursday, June 25, 2009

FOR IRAQ OIL, FINALLY BACK TO BUSINESS...

Since the liberation of Iraq, turned the long invasion period, it is only now that Iraq is able to finally get back to the oil business. Due to my involvement in the political arena prior to the military intervention in March 2003, I got to meet many key figures among Iraqi exiles, such as Kanan Makiya, Ahmed Chalabi, Prince Sharif Ali bin Al-Hussein, Jalal Talabani and his son Qubad, Barham Saleh, Mohammed Mohammed, and so on. Chief among them was a man whose sense of mission struck me from the beginning, the Iraqi nuclear scientist, Hussein al-Shaharistani. Hussein is the current minister of oil. Being his usual self, a man of integrity and commited to the well-being of his country, at the end of his tenure in 2010, he will reportedly move on to head the Iraq Academy of Sciences.

Meanwhile, next week, roughly over 30 foreign oil companies have been selected to participate in the auction of oil contracts.

To be followed....


BIG OIL BACK TO IRAQ?

By Anna Aulova

24 June 2009 (CBS) --- Thirty five companies are qualified to bid on foreign oil contracts with Iraq starting next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The government decided to auction off foreign oil contracts in an attempt to boost up its war torn economy.

The auction is taking place for the first time since Iraq nationalized its oil industry more than 30 years ago. Among top potential bidders are Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Italy's Eni SpA, Russia's Lukoil and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. If all goes according to plan, the new contracts with foreign companies will help Iraq to stabilize six developed fields which have suffered because of the war.

Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has expressed his commitment to staying on the deal despite lawmakers' concerns of legality of the contracts - believed by the parliament to have highly favorable terms for the foreign companies.

According to Wall Street Journal, the oil deal could be key to stablizing Iraq's economy and to its proposed plans to boost oil output from the current 2.4 million barrels a day to 4 million. The companies themselves, are also reported as being eager to receive the contracts due to Iraq's relativly unexplored reservoirs, with some considering the nation as the most important opening of petrolium fields in years. Only about 20 out of the known 80 oil fields have been developed.

Al-Shahristani has stated that the companies with the lowest rates and highest potential profit for Iraq will receive the contracts, according to the article.

Approximately 120 companies were interested in bidding. The contracts will last 20 years and the winning companies will begin work in November.
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by mattcat25 June 24, 2009 11:31 AM PDT
The Bush (Richard Cheney) Presidential Administration coveted a long term 30 year Oil Production Partnership Privatization Act that would've turned over complete control of Oil Production to Private Multinational Corporations (EXXON and BPO) without any provisions for the Iraqi People.

This legislation failed the newly installed Iraqi Parliament instead the Iraqis opted to maintain control of their Oil and put production contracts out to bid.


This one fact that completely failed is evident that the President Cheney and Bush along with the Republican Party used US Tax $Dollars (Socialism) to have the Military invad and occupy Iraq to steal their OIL.

Iraq never needed the US, and still doesn't because ultimately they have the OIL.
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