The door to Iraq's oil opens

[go west young man]

Source: Asia TimesOnline

Iraq's proven reserves of oil are only smaller than those of Saudi Arabia and Iran - and Iraq is only about 30% explored. Experts are generally of the view that Iraq's actual oil reserves could well turn out to be at least double the 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. Beyond that, it is anybody's guess as to the scale of Iraq's as-yet-untapped gas reserves.

And Shahristani is visibly getting ready to negotiate the contracts for Iraq's "super giants". In the idiom of Big Oil, "super giants" are fields with at least five billion barrels of oil in reserve. Iraq's super giants are Kirkuk (in Kurdistan), Majnoon (bordering Iran), Rumaila North and South (in the south), West Qurna (west of Basra) and Zubair (in the southeast) fields, and, possibly, the Nahr Umr and East Baghdad fields. In addition, Iraq is estimated to have 22 "giant" fields, each having more than 1 billion barrels of oil.

In fact, Iraq may host the largest untapped reserves in the world. There is a strong likelihood that Iraq's reserves may turn out to be exponentially higher than the current estimations, which are based on old-style seismic surveys. All said, unsurprisingly, the world oil market is in a tizzy when Shahristani says something, anything. He is about to sign the contracts for these and many other large Iraqi oil-producing fields.

That indeed makes Shahristani a very important statesman today - at a time when worldwide oil demands are rising and consumer countries have appeared in Asia with gargantuan appetites for energy, when the oil majors' booked reserves are in decline and the known global reserves happen to be primarily under nationalized systems.


Read more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JB16Ak05.html

[gateley]

1. K&R nt

[dkf]

2. 100 year war...

[MADem]

3. The Fifty First State? nt

[WCGreen]

4. All this will do is delay implimentation of energy efficiency in the

US causing this country to fall further into the 20th century as the rest of the world gallops into the 21st...

[Baby Snooks]

5. Should prove interesting...

Who gets the spoils of the war? India, China and Russia all may end up with part of the spoils. Just to spite the Bush Administration.

What is the Bush Adminstration going to do if they do? Declare war again? As with Iran, the Bushes and their Boys including the CIA should have left well enough alone. They still don't have the oil in Iran. Only a fool believes they will ever have the oil in Iraq either.

[LiberalLovinLug]

7. Pillaging 101

How exactly are India China and Russian going to get the spoils that the US controls? That was the point of the war in the first place including the permanent bases to make sure their puppets in Bagdad stay the course. They are pushing through an oil deal in their bought and paid for Iraqi parliament where Exxon, Shell, other American based companies etc.. are guaranteed a huge profit on every drop that is sucked out. Yes these companies are global with no national allegiances and will then re-up the price and sell to whomever pays them what they want (India, China, Russia).
The ones benefiting the most will be the Bushies and their friends in Big Oil. Your tax dollars and soldiers lives work for them, they're licking their chops right now.

[formercia]

9. Russia forgave Iraq's debt for access to oil fields

I don't think Junior and company have very much leverage. What are they going to do, overthrow the Iraqi government?

The days when Haliburton was one of the few places to get oil field technology are over. The Russians and Chinese can supply it at a lower cost.

[Arctic Dave]

6. The prey has been killed.

Like a bear sitting on its kill, the US devourers all it can, while fending off all others who get too close.

[liberal N proud]

8. The real reason we attacked Iraq

For Exxon-Mobil and Shell

[slipslidingaway]

10. K&R thanks for posting n/t

[slipslidingaway]

11. Kick n/t

[Disturbed]

12. No blood for oil?

[slipslidingaway]

13. Yes, some knew....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdU09oD-OU

http://www.noendinsightmovie.com/

[Orwellian_Ghost]

14. K&R n/t

[Imagevision]

15. But...But... the oil pipelines get bombed at least once every week

[jazzjunkysue]

16. What? Only 9 recs in 24 hours? This is our collective reality. This is what makes

everything else that is happening in the world make sense.

Who used what word in a speech is more important news than this?

Lewinsky, the swiftboats, the 9/11 coverup, Yellowcake from niger, re-writing the constitution, removing civil rights, rigging elections, rendition, the surge, it's all about this one thing:

Belly up to the oil bar.

Howdy, pardner. What'll ya have?