Showing posts with label Oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oil. Show all posts

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Iraqi Oil-The Greatest Robbery in the History of Mankind

As a follow up to my previous post about the oil and the "No Bid" contracts that are about to be given to the big US and British oil companies. I happened to know a bit more about the details of the new contracts that will be signed very soon and some major changes in the policies previously announced by the Iraqi government. I won't comment (I'm sick of the whole thing) but I want to draw the attention to the organized theft led by the US and the UK in collaboration with Al Maliki government:

The following are new notes and observations;

1-Iraq is officially flinging open six of its major oilfields, accounting for half of its known reserves, to foreign investors. According to Iraq's oil minister, the long-term contracts will be signed within a year. While ostensibly under the control of the Iraq National Oil Company, foreign corporations will keep 75% of the value of the contracts, leaving just 25% for their Iraqi partners. That kind of ratio is unheard of in oil-rich Arab Gulf states.

2-According to Greg Muttitt, a London-based oil expert, the assumption up until now was that foreign multinationals would be brought in to develop new fields in Iraq - not to take over those which are already in production and therefore require minimal technical support. "The policy was always to allocate these fields to the Iraq National Oil Company," he said. "This is a total reversal of that policy, giving the Iraq National Oil Company a mere 25% instead of the planned 100%."

I won't comment as I said but will keep you posted on any new updates!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Oil giants lining up for slice of Iraqi resources!

So, here we go folks, this is it and this is what it's all about! so, having failed to pass a law that will virtually hand over Iraq's natural resources to the the GIANT oil companies soon enough, the Iraqi government is handing out two-year, "NO-BID" contracts (wink wink) to companies that have been "ACTING in ADVISORY ROLES" to the Iraqi Oil Ministry in recent years. These companies are the U.S.-based Exxon Mobil and Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, France's Total and the British oil company BP. Their offers are preferred to 40 other contractors from Russia, China and India! I wonder why?!!! well Assem Jihad, the oil ministry spokesman, said the ministry chose companies it was "comfortable working with" under the charitable memorandum of understanding agreements, and for their technical prowess. "Because of that, they got the priority," he said. WOW, I'm sure the same crteria is followed all over the world, right? what a heap of BS.

Now let's have a closer look folks: first these are NO-BID contracts! and I would like to ask WHY? WHY NO BID? do you think that Iraq will get the best out of this deal by making these a NO BID contracts? OF COURSE NOT! Furthermore, Let's assume that these folks were playing advisory roles to the minister of oil in Iraq, do you think that these guys will give advise that would undermine their long term interests in Iraqi natural resources and any opportunity of giving their respective companies an edge against other oil companies that are willing to fairly compete? NO, of course.

Also, if the Iraqi oil ministry wanted some advise from oil experts, don't you think that it would have been much cheaper to hire experts and pay them handsomely rather than now pay $2.0 billion in No-bid contracts in return for some advise and some management expertise to the oil ministry? what do you think Me Shahrestani?

Few final points I would like you to know or refresh your memory about. These are; 1-Back in 2003, all the Iraqi governmental establishments (buildings, HQs, warehouses... absolutely everything) were left out by the US forces for the looters to virtually strip them clean EXCEPT for the Oil Ministry HQ! 2-Iraq's 2008 budget of US$46.8 billion was calculated based on US$57 per barrel oil, roughly less than half the current market rate. I wonder where the extra income will go, we'll see! keep an eye on that. 3-Condi said in an interview on FOX News "The United States government has stayed out of the matter of awarding the Iraq oil contracts. It's a private sector matter". Really! I mean why do you want to insult our intelligence? do you really think that anybody with some brain will buy that? give me a break.