Iraq, With U.S. Support, Voids a Russian Oil Contract

[Barrett808]

Source: The New York Times

Iraq, With U.S. Support, Voids a Russian Oil Contract
By ANDREW E. KRAMER
Published: November 4, 2007

BAGHDAD, Oct. 29 — Guided by American legal advisers, the Iraqi government has canceled a controversial development contract with the Russian company Lukoil for a vast oil field in Iraq’s southern desert, freeing it up for potential international investment in the future.

In response, Russian authorities have threatened to revoke a 2004 deal under the Paris Club of creditor nations to forgive $13 billion in Iraqi debt, a senior Iraqi official said.

The field, West Qurna, has estimated reserves of 11 billion barrels, the equivalent of the worldwide proven oil reserves of Exxon Mobil, America’s largest oil company. Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, said in an interview that the field would be opened to new bidders, perhaps as early as next year.

The contract, which had been signed and later canceled by the Saddam Hussein government, had been in legal limbo since the American invasion. But the Kremlin remained hopeful it could be salvaged until this September, when Mr. Shahristani traveled to Moscow to inform officials there that the decision to cancel it was final, he said.

The Russian government, newly emboldened in international affairs by its expanding oil wealth, is still backing Lukoil’s claim and protesting what it considers selective enforcement of contracts in Iraq.

“We will defend our interests,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said in a telephone interview. “It is the government’s obligation to defend the interests of our companies in foreign countries.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/world/middleeast/04oil.html

[magellan]

1. Third front opening in Bush**'s WOT

Or is it the 4th? 5th?

Heckuva job, George.

[Solly Mack]

2. ...

"In response, Russian authorities have threatened to revoke a 2004 deal under the Paris Club of creditor nations to forgive $13 billion in Iraqi debt, a senior Iraqi official said."

and December 31st is coming up

After December 31, countries and other creditors to Iraq can put a lien on oil revenues for repayment

[truthisfreedom]

3. Nice job, bush. No business deals in Iraq are valid unless done with bushco.

Nothing like gaining the trust and respect of nations around the world. bush has turned Amerika into a bad episode of the Sopranos.

[Supersedeas]

11. baby steps toward WWIII in the name of oil

[rodeodance]

4. well well, very interesting

[tom_paine]

5. Bush's "Mafia Threat" to Putin about DubyaDubyaThree was only the opening salvo

in what is likely to be a series of provocations between New Hitler and New Stalin. However, I sreiously doubt that they can rush to war between each other because of nuke. If it wasn't for those pesky nukes, though...

Now THIS is Reality TV! Must-See TV! I can hardly wait to see what happens next!

[thecrow]

8. I really like the DubyaDubyaThree phrase

it's very catchy and would make a great bumper sticker.

Oh and I saw this story and it looked to me to be THE small story that kicks off a war.

But $13 billion? Pffft. We've lost and squandered more than that in Iraq already.
What's a measly $13 billion to repay when there is oil involved? We'll lend it to the Iraqis and then lend 'em some more so they'll never be out of debt to us while we plunder the oil. Sort of how the World Bank operates.

[jpak]

6. but...but...but..IT'S NOT ABOUT OIL

How soon we forget...

[slipslidingaway]

7. K&R...Kremlin spokesman "We will defend our interests, it is the

government's obligation to defend the interests of our companies in foreign countries."

[ohio2007]

9. 77 percent of the world’s oil reserves are held by national oil companies with no private equity

and there are 13 state-owned oil companies with more reserves than ExxonMobil, the largest multinational oil company. The popular perception in the United States is that if leaders of oil countries nationalize their oil, they are bucking a global trend toward privatization. In reality, nationalized oil is the trend. And the percentage of oil controlled by state-owned companies is likely to continue rising, mainly because of the demographics of oil.

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04oil-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin
so say writer at the NYTimes TINA ROSENBERG

[slipslidingaway]

10. This looks like a great article deserving it's own thread, would

you? If you do please post the link here so I can K&R, thank you!