(Iraq) Oil output fell in '05; prospects grim

[sabra]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0601250198jan25,1,4739234.story

Oil output fell in '05; prospects grim
Poor state of fields, insurgent attacks blamed for decline

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi oil production fell by 8 percent last year, with a sharp decline near year's end that left average daily production at half the 3 million barrels envisioned by U.S. officials at the outset of the war in 2003.

Prospects for improvement this year are slim, according to many experts, calling into question Iraq's ability to support itself and fund reconstruction efforts as U.S. assistance is scaled back.

Reasons for the shortfall include the poor state of the nation's oil fields, a creaky infrastructure, poor management and ongoing insurgent attacks, particularly to pipelines in the north-central region meant to export oil through Turkey.

"There is no instant turnaround," said Paul Horsnell, energy analyst with Barclays Capital in London. "It could take five years, six years or seven years."

[stop the bleeding]

1. Two Trillion dollars, over 2200 soldiers killed, over 100,000 Iraqis

killed, - nothing else to say

[heidler1]

4. This only shows that even the true reason for the * Iraqi invasion

namely Iraqi oil is another * failure. Sure peak oil is an inevitable problem, but * just made it happen quicker.

[Julius Civitatus]

5. Maybe that's what they wanted

If they knew in advance they could precipitate a "peak oil" situation, they could ca$h out big time in the market. I don't put anything beneath this bunch. Anything!

:tinfoilhat:

[heidler1]

17. No argument and I have posted that more than once.

However this too would take a lot more planning then I give them credit for and if the troops and their parents back here in the states found out that was the truth, * would be tared and feathered.

This is why Iran has * over a barrel. If Iranian insurgents kept their oil production down it would be a world wide disaster.

[jayfish]

2. With All Of The Good News...

out of Iraq lately,(insurgent attacks up in 2005 and now this this)I sometimes wonder whet I get all worked up about. :eyes:

Jay

[Julius Civitatus]

3. Someone said once that Iraq war aimed to raise oil prices

by shutting down the flow of Iraqi cheap oil into the market. By invading Iraq, they could control the flow of cheap Iraqi oil (shutting down oil-for-food programs), thus creating an "oil market bubble," inflating prices by artificially decreasing the available amount of oil in the market.

The more I read news like this article, the more I am reminded of that theory, that the invasion of Iraq wasn't exactly waged to "get the Iraqi oil," but rather to shut it out of the market.

I wonder if some of the key architects of this invasion bought specific energy stocks before the invasion, in anticipation of an artificial stock price bubble. Any journalist out there reading this, please take the ball and run with it! There may be a story there.

[Village Idiot]

7. Saddam took Iraqi oil off the petrodollar in 2000, remember...

...so the US was not making ONE RED CENT off Iraqi oil...

[Julius Civitatus]

10. Still, the main issue was cheap oil coming to the market from Iraq

through the oil-for-food exchange program. This cheapened the price of oil, and lowered the profits of oil companies.

They could not artificially inflate the price of energy resources to cash out on inflated stock prices... could they?

(cough... ENRON... cough)

:sarcasm:

[truth2power]

16. I think that's the real reason...

Sadaam was trading in Euros. Tsk tsk!

Now Iran's gonna do (essentially) the same. Booga booga! Here come the war drums. :evilfrown:

[Village Idiot]

6. This is the IDEA, folks!!!

The more fear instailled, the more chaos imparted to the Middle East by US policies and blatant intervention, the more money domestic oil companies canpocket.

Iraqi oil comes out of the ground for about $2.50 / barrel. Saudi oil is about $1.50. How can you make any money pulling oil out of the Gulf of Maxico at $10.00 / barrel unless you raise world prices to over $60.00?

[stop the bleeding]

9. between what you are saying and what Julius Civitatus says - me thinks

that you all are on to something here.

Nominating this thread for further discussion

[Bushwick Bill]

8. How can you guys say it was about oil?

:sarcasm:

http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.c_.shtml

Can you imagine what the documents that they won't show us reveal?

[leftchick]

11. I think of those oily papers every day

It will be about 50 years after cheney's death before they see the light of day.

[Julius Civitatus]

12. Kick -- n/t

[lovuian]

13. The Iraq oil wells are not in good shape is an understatement

we went to war for lousy wells... thats the joke of it... Saddam must be laughing...

[SoCalDem]

14. 2 trillion divided by 25 million Iraqi population

how much would that work out to? come on you math wizards.. Maybe we should have just sent them all a check and had them throw out saddma all by themselves.. I know a couple of thousand families who would have preferred that

[pinniped]

15. I call BS. More than 8% of Iraq's total output in 2005 was...

piped out 'off' the books.

It's probably more like 25% and work your way up from there.