Let's not forget about Iraq's oil.

[kuozzman]

It's still my and many others belief, that we invaded Iraq for reasons having to do with oil. It's well known that Saddam didn't allow any foreign ownership or investment. It's also well known that Iraq contains 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the third largest in the world (behind Saudi Arabia and Canada), concentrated overwhelmingly (80% or so) in southern Iraq. However, something I find amazing is that only about 10% of the country has been explored! 10%! Some analysts (the Baker Institute, Center for Global Energy Studies, the Federation of American Scientists, etc.) believe, for instance, that deep oil-bearing formations located mainly in the vast Western Desert region, for instance, could yield large additional oil resources-possibly another 100 billion barrels or more, but have not been explored. Only 17 of the country's 80 discovered oil fields have been developed, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration. Only 2,300 wells have been drilled in Iraq. Texas has about 1 million.

Though the corporate media seems to have forgotten that Iraq has oil, U.S. and other Int'l oil firms certainly haven't. The situation is somewhat similar to the possibility of privatizing Social Security. The media leads us to believe that all of the big Wall Street investment firms aren't drooling over that possibility, even though it's obvious they would make billions instantly and many more in the future.

Well just to get in good with the decision makers, most of the major energy firms are currently doing tens of millions of dollars of work for free.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group signed an agreement with the ministry Jan. 14 to study the vast Kirkuk field, which has been producing for decades and is currently estimated to hold 8.7 billion barrels of reserves. Shell also will help draft a master plan for tapping Iraq's natural gas.

Shell will do the work for free as a way to strengthen its links with the ministry, said spokesman Simon Buerk in the firm's London headquarters.

BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, signed a contract last week to study the Rumailah oil field near Basra. Exxon Mobil Corp. inked a memorandum of cooperation with the ministry last fall, laying groundwork to provide the ministry with technical assistance and conduct joint studies. An Iraqi-Turkish consortium won a contract in late December to help develop the Khurmala Dome oil field.

San Ramon's ChevronTexaco has been flying Iraqi oil engineers to the United States for four-week training courses since early last year. The company also helps those engineers analyze data from the Kirkuk and South Rumailah fields.

ChevronTexaco describes the program as a goodwill gesture, one that will not necessarily result in future contracts with the Iraqis. "We made it clear there will be no quid pro quo," said company spokesman Don Campbell.



Dept. of Energy: Analysis of Iraq
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iraq.html

01/30 article: U.S. firms seek Iraqi oil prize
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050130/NEWS/50129029/1011

[leesa]

1. And water...