Posts Tagged ‘oil’
We at USDemocrazy are sometimes forgetful (except when it comes to or daily dose of chocolate).
With all the craziness that has been going on in Iran, it is easy to forget about that other Middle Eastern country the USA is invested in…Iraq.
So let’s talk about Iraq and it’s number one economic resource -oil (though we would rather talk about chocolate)…
Starting next week, the oil rich country of Iraq will auction off oil contracts to foreign companies for the first time in 30 years.
This is a big deal. Iraq has largely up to now kept their oil production (and profits) to itself.
But the Iraq oil industry is in a shambles, the country is desperate for money, and foreign oil companies have the expertise (and money) to make things happen.
But there will be some hostility to this new development. Many opponents if the Iraq invasion in the region regarded the war as a cynical attempt by the US and its allies to grab Iraqi oil.
Now those opponents will point to the intervention of foreign companies in the Iraqi oil fields and say ” Told you so!”.
Others folks are wondering why these deals are being distributed as no-bid contracts. Here’s the rundown:
Gina Chon at The Wall Street Journal writes:
If all goes according to plan in the first round, foreign oil companies will move in to help Iraq revive production at six developed fields that have suffered from years of war and neglect.
Andrew Kramer at the NYTimes says:
Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.
Daniel Altman on The Managing Globalization Blog asks the question:
This was a country that desperately needed the revenue to help rebuild its schools, power grid and water supply after a long internal conflict. So why did it hand out the contracts with no auction at all?
Well, that’s the 411. We here at USDemocrazy like to keep you appraised of the situation! So what do you think?
