Iraq Oil Watch Thread

[Hocus Eye.]

Mitch McConnell the senior republican in the Yahoo news item quoted in post 27 is not exactly consistent. In expressing his frustration at the Iraqi government and its hesitation in signing the oil bill and its possible demand for America to leave.

Citing media reports, McConnell said some lawmakers in Iraq's parliament wanted a vote to ask the United States to leave.

"I want to assure you, if they vote to ask us to leave, we'll be glad to comply with their request," he said.

However four paragraphs later in the report he is quoted as saying;-

The United States should consider whether the threat from al Qaeda would be increased at home if its troops withdrew from Iraq, he said.

"If we give up prematurely, we go home, declare it over, will they be back here on the -- in our own country?" McConnell said. "And I think the chances of that are overwhelmingly likely."

Of the two contradictory quotes I think the second one is what he really thinks. Of course the context is a vote for more money for the war.

 

[moono]

lets hope they hold out till next year...

I hope they hold out indefinitely. In fact, I hope they join with Iran to form an OPEC alternative which doesn't deal in dollars.


Hark, I hear the CIA kicking my door in.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

I think that Iraq had already changed from the petrodollar to the eurodollar in 2000 under Saddam Hussain. He got invaded for his trouble. It would really rile the Americans if Iraq did that again. The dollar would be in serious trouble if this happened though and even the Democrats become warlike again.

 

[zoltan]

I think that Iraq had already changed from the petrodollar to the eurodollar in 2000 under Saddam Hussain. He got invaded for his trouble. It would really rile the Americans if Iraq did that again. The dollar would be in serious trouble if this happened though and even the Democrats become warlike again.

Nah. This has been propagated as a reason behind the invasion for a while - whereas most people realise it was a political excercise by Iraq & cost them to carry out anyway - with no real benefit IIRC.

Weve seem the same discussion with regard to the Iranian Oil Bourse in Euro stuff that creeps out now and then.Its not going to happen I think.I dont think even the might of a united Euro focused OPEC is enought to send the US economy into tailspin.......Chinas US cash & bond holding + its Oil demand is an interesting asopect to thsi scenario

 

[moono]

Kucinich derided fellow Democrats for not removing the oil provision from the spending bill as well as not demanding a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. And he said if U.S. troops are allowed to stay in Iraq to protect U.S. citizens and assets, it would include protecting any part of the oil sector U.S. oil corporations are involved in, effectively prolonging troops' stay in the country.

"There's no way this war will ever end if Congress passes a bill that dictates to the Iraqi government they must hand over oil resources to multinational oil companies," he said.

The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions earlier this month sent a letter to both the U.S. and European legislatures asking them to stop pressing for the law. Both Iraqi politicians and oil technocrats, as well as outside oil and political experts, say the pressure is making matters worse, forcing a bill through that has no consensus.

http://www.upi.com/Energy/Briefing/2007/05/24/kucinich_others_want_oil_out_of_war_funds/9281/

Oil and the Israel Lobby- America's twin sicknesses.

 

[ska invita]

...a feud has broken out over three appendixes that control revenue-sharing and the creation of a strong national oil company.

The Kurds, whose autonomous region in the north contains large oil fields, are pushing for a more pro-investment law that would encourage production-sharing agreements, a revenue-sharing plan that would benefit oil-rich regions and greater regional control over reserves.

They also are worried that the plan to allow a future Iraqi National Oil Co. (INOC) to control 93 percent of Iraq's oil reserves would create a "state within a state."

"We are concerned, as the Kurdistan Regional Government, about an overly powerful national oil company, especially given the fact that we don't have in place the necessary checks and balances," said Qubad Talabany, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Washington representative.
"We have to be diligent on this and understand that oil, if managed well, could be a unifier. But if not managed well, it could further polarize the country," he said.

The Shi'ites, who hold the majority in the south where Iraq's other large oil fields are located and currently control the government, want a more restrictive investment law and greater centralized authority over reserves and revenue.

According to Platt's, Iraqi oil production is lolling at just over 2 million barrels per day, well below the 2.8 million barrels per day produced in Iraq in the months before the war began in March 2003.

Greater regional control over reserves and revenues could provide the basis for a de-facto partitioning of the country, said one former official in the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

"The ones who will benefit are the local mafiosi and the separatist political leaders, whether they are the leaders of the Shi'ite religious parties or the Kurdistan separatist parties," said Falleh al-Hayat, director general of planning at the Ministry of Oil in 2004.

Whats interesting about this is that the arguments do not seem to be over foreign intervention in the oil market - according to thie piece (WAshington Post) there is agreement that there is a role for multinationals to "help" to develop new oil fields.

93% control of naitonal fields seems like a pretty good ratio then: a significant majority of state control of multinational oil companies. The BIll has been amened several times now, and from what I gather this 93% is much larger than first proposed by the US.

The sticking point over the vote seems to be more over Kurdish proportionality - the KUrds areas having the most oil and unwilling to give it up to the centralised state body.

...so maybe even if the bill does go through it wont be suc a bad look for Iraq - 93% in state hands seems like a good ratio of ownership to foreign investment/infastructure - or am I missing something?

 

[ska invita]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that "U.S. Digs In to Guard Iraq Oil Exports"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119482675431289543.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news&apl=y&r=442705

A story clearly designed to reassure business heads, no?

 

[ska invita]

If your interested in Iraqi Oil I heartily recommend this brilliant new graphic novel-type account of the history of Iraqi Oil, from 1908 to today.

I knew a little bit about the history of British/US colonialism in the region but this book really makes it accesible - with pitcures and everything!

There's a booklaunch for it on 30th Novemebr 2007 at 7pm at HOusmans Bookshop - www.housmans.com - 5 CAledonian Road, London n1 9DX - free food and drinks

But you can get a copy today and they are dead cheap.
Available from Voices at £3 per copy (or £2 per copy for orders of five or more) + £1 p&p. Send cheques (made payable to 'Voices in the Wilderness') to: Voices UK, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX. Please specify how many comics you would like.
http://www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/library/letter_novdec07.htm#resources

more on the book

Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ‘No War for Oil’ (and its variants) was a popular anti-war slogan.

Just as routine have been the official denials that oil played any role in the decision to invade. Indeed, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells recently denounced 'conspiracy theorists’ who had the temerity to suggest that Britain had used its position as an occupying power to 'skew’ Iraq’s draft oil law (see p.5) ‘to suit western oil companies.’

One of the reasons why such statements cannot be taken at face value is that we have been here before.

Indeed, as Jon Sack describes at length in his excellent new comic book history Iraqi Oil for Beginners, it was Britain’s invasion of Iraq during WWI (and the subsequent occupation) that allowed western companies to seize control of the country’s oil – control that was not fully relinquished until the early 70s. Then, as now, the British proclaimed loftier motives for their actions.

Spanning the period from Britain’s 1908 discovery of oil in Iran, right up to the current day, this is a dense but cleverly-laid-out work that manages to present a complex mass of material – material that should be part of every anti-war activists’ background knowledge - in as painless a form as possible.

An ideal Xmas present for an anti-war activist, or anyone who likes comics …

 

[Backatcha Bandit]

Apologies for the belated response - but this does rather need correcting:

Nah. This has been propagated as a reason behind the invasion for a while - whereas most people realise it was a political excercise by Iraq & cost them to carry out anyway - with no real benefit IIRC.

Spot the difference:

A:

Baghdad's recent insistence on selling its oil in Euros rather than US dollars, which is the worldwide industry standard, will likely result in Iraq losing US$250 to US$300 million yearly in conversion fees and lost interest.

26/01/01, Fact Sheet: U.S. Department of State on Iraqi Underspending



B:

A bizarre political statement by Saddam Hussein has earned Iraq a windfall of hundreds of million of euros...

..The marked appreciation of the euro, higher interest rates, and the ability to pay mainly European suppliers in euros is believed to have made hundreds of millions for the Iraqi oil-for-food programme.

16/2/2003 Guardian: Iraq nets handsome profit by dumping dollar for euro


So it would rather appear that you don't 'recall correctly'.

Needless to say, Iraqi oil sales were 'switched back' to US Dollars when Bush signed (post invasion) Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003.

 

[ska invita]

Needless to say, Iraqi oil sales were 'switched back' to US Dollars when Bush signed (post invasion) Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003.

Howveer there was a series of articles in the Independent the other day that outline all the countries that have been switching their transactions (oil+others) to Euros. A good read:

Korea's central bank has urged shipbuilders to issue invoices in the local currency and take precautions against the weakened dollar, and three of the world's big oil exporters, Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, are demanding payment in euros rather than dollars. Iran insisted that Japan should make all its payments for oil in yen, rather than dollars.

The dollar's decline: from symbol of hegemony to shunned currency

Also related:
Rappers join models in insisting on euros as greenbacks fall further out of fashion

The dollar may recover, but the world will be different

Expert View: This is the beginning of the end for the all-powerful dollar

What will be interesting is how free Iraq will ever be to run its own affairs - what would the US do if an Iraqi prime minister switched from dollar to euro? Invade?

 

[ska invita]

Interesting spat here: the Kurds have been doing deals with Western oil companies, only to have them squashed by the central oil ministry:

- Iraq's oil ministry has declared all crude contracts signed by the Kurdish regional authorities with foreign companies null and void, a government official said on Saturday.

"The ministry has nullified all contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government," the official told AFP, asking not to be named. "They will not be recognised."

The government in Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region has signed 15 exploration and exportation contracts with 20 international companies since it passed its own oil law in August, infuriating the Baghdad government.

Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani has in recent weeks angrily denounced the Kurdish authorities for signing the contracts before the national parliament approves a new oil and gas law, declaring them "illegal".

The government official said the minister had now gone further and nullified all the contracts and had warned the foreign companies involved that they would be blacklisted.

more

 

[ska invita]

Intersting coverage on Democracy Now (December 06, 2007):
"The Battle For Basra & Iraq’s Oil"

With over 80 percent of the country’s known oil reserves, Basra holds the key to Iraq’s economy. Without its revenues the central government in Baghdad would collapse. The struggle for power in Basra is central to the larger battle for control in the new Shiite dominated Iraq. This is a report from Basra by independent filmmaker Rick Rowley of Big Noise films.

Transcript here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/6/the_battle_for_basra_iraqs_oil
But easier to watch the video - download here:
http://ia360624.us.archive.org/0/items/dn2007-1206_vid/dn2007-1206_256kb.mp4

Ffwd to 42mins in for the oil section
...what it shows is, in brief, a sectarian fight for oil in Basra.

 

[ska invita]

Day of Action: Saturday 23 February 2008

TELL SHELL AND BP: HANDS OFF IRAQI OIL!
END THE OCCUPATION - MILITARY AND ECONOMIC

Called by Hands Off Iraqi Oil and supported by the Stop the War Coalition.
www.HandsOffIraqiOil.org

STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE IRAQI PEOPLE
For the Iraqi people, the ongoing war and occupation have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, relentless insecurity and deepening poverty. But for foreign oil companies, the desperate situation in Iraq is an opportunity to make massive profits.

In February last year, the Iraqi cabinet approved a draft oil law which, if passed by Iraq's parliament, would allow the likes of Shell, BP and Exxon to take over control of most of Iraq's oil reserves, depriving ordinary Iraqis of scores of billions of dollars. Shell and BP, with the help of the UK Government, have been actively pushing for this law and these contracts since 2003.

A YEAR OF RESISTANCE
One year on, despite five US- and IMF-imposed deadlines, the law is still being contested at every level of Iraqi society. Nevertheless, the Iraqi government has declared its intention to press on and sign deals with foreign oil companies under Saddam-era laws. It has set a 31 January deadline for companies to register their interest in Iraq's existing oil fields (http://tinyurl.com/2bzcuq) - and so gain a first official foot in the door.

We need to keep the pressure up in the UK, the US and around the world and support the Iraqi people in their ongoing struggle.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO STOP THEM
The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions is at the forefront of grassroots campaigning against the privatisation of Iraq’s oil industry and has threatened strike action should the law go ahead. Oil experts, lawyers, academics, trade unionists, and students are rejecting the occupation-imposed oil law and the economic occupation it serves.

Who should decide the future of Iraq’s economy and resources? The people of Iraq, or Shell and BP?

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Join the Hands Off Iraqi Oil day of action on Saturday 23 February 2008:

* Hold a protest at your local Shell and BP garages (see below for resources), and let us know the details so we can help publicise it: [email protected]
* Stay informed: sign up for email updates about the campaign via [email protected]
* Find out more: check www.handsoffiraqioil.org for briefings, leaflets, posters, stickers and details of actions both in the UK and internationally.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE
The following resources can be ordered (UK only) or downloaded from www.handsoffiraqioil.org or by phoning Voices UK on 0845 458 2564:

* Hands Off Iraqi Oil poster (A2)
* Hands Off Iraqi Oil stickers (A7)
* Mythbusters factsheet: responses to some common myths about Iraq’s oil
* 'Iraqi Oil for Beginners' by Jon Sack, a new comic book history of Iraq’s oil. Price £3
* Shell leaflets and factsheets

Further resources coming soon...

**************************************************************************************

Events: This list contains subscribers from around the world - send us your Iraqi oil related events, wherever they're taking place, and we'll do our best to include them in these updates. Email [email protected].

Campaign materials: A reminder that you can download Hands Off Iraqi Oil campaign materials from the website: www.handsoffiraqioil.org.

About this list: This is the news and action list for supporters of Hands Off Iraqi Oil, a UK coalition campaigning against any foreign exploitation of Iraq's oil reserves that rips off the Iraqi people.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the list, go to https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/handsoff-update.

 

[david dissadent]

http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2008/01/...dollars-to-each-iraqi-mp-to-pass-the-oil-law/

The source is not ideal but it is very worth a read, if anyone can veryify this from a better source please do so.

 

[ska invita]

http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2008/01/...dollars-to-each-iraqi-mp-to-pass-the-oil-law/

The source is not ideal but it is very worth a read, if anyone can veryify this from a better source please do so.

great find , even though from an anonymous source

 

[ska invita]

Important new developments here: read the whole article
http://www.niqash.org/content.php?contentTypeID=171&id=2243&lang=1

Intro:

Last week saw the biggest step so far towards transferring Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign multinational companies, sparking renewed accusations that the US-UK war on Iraq was really motivated by an oil grab.

The Oil Ministry announced on 30 June that foreign oil companies would be invited to bid for contracts to develop six of Iraq’s largest oilfields, which together contain around half of the country’s known oil reserves.

Yet most commentators missed the significance of the move – that it would give away more to foreign companies than had been planned at any point since the Constitution was written in 2005, and possibly more than any major oil producer has given since the colonial era.

 

[nino_savatte]

Iraqi cabinet "approves" security pact with the US

I'm willing to wager that plenty of arm-twisting and cajoling went on. So now the US will have a permanent presence of 150,000 troops on the ground to protect the oilfields (subject to parliamentary approval). They will be withdrawn from cities and towns.

But the pact has drawn fire from hardline nationalists, especially Iraq's influential Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose supporters have called for mass demonstrations to oppose any agreement with the US "occupier".

On the streets of Baghdad there was a mixed reaction to the pact.

''We don't want an agreement with America," said Rasheed al-Jumali.

"We don't want an agreement with Israel. We don't want an agreement with Iran. They (the government) should work towards reinforcing the gallant Iraqi army. We fully and totally reject this security pact.''

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7731971.stm