[dadman]

"As world demand for oil increases and as oil reserves in other areas decline at a fast rate, oil in Iraq will represent a steadily-larger proportion of the world’s total. If Iraq’s fields meet high-end estimates in the 3-400 billon barrel range, Iraq’s reserves could reach over 30% of total global reserves by mid-century or even before."
"Whatever the exact results, and assuming a U.S.-friendly government, it is clear that Iraq is a goldmine that is literally “worth fighting for” in the view of the big companies."

Crisis article (http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2002/12heart.htm)

[Battler]

Are you still beating your wife to steal her oil?

[DonQatU]

Who will get THIS contract??!! Kellogg, Brown and Root?!!....

Janes 16 April 2003
Oil from Iraq : An Israeli pipedream?

Israel stands to benefit greatly from the US led war on Iraq, primarily by getting rid of an implacable foe in President Saddam Hussein and the threat from the weapons of mass destruction he was alleged to possess. But it seems the Israelis have other things in mind.

An intriguing pointer to one potentially significant benefit was a report by Haaretz on 31 March that minister for national infrastructures Joseph Paritzky was considering the possibility of reopening the long-defunct oil pipeline from Mosul to the Mediterranean port of Haifa. With Israel lacking energy resources of its own and depending on highly expensive oil from Russia, reopening the pipeline would transform its economy.

To resume supplies from Mosul to Haifa would require the approval of whatever Iraqi government emerges and presumably the Jordanian government, through whose territory it would be likely to run. Paritzky's ministry was reported to have said on 9 April that it would hold discussions with Jordanian authorities on resuming oil supplies from Mosul, with one source saying the Jordanians were "optimistic". Jordan, aware of the deep political sensitivities involved, immediately denied there were any such talks.

Paritzky said he was certain the USA would respond favourably to the idea of resurrecting the pipeline. Indeed, according to Western diplomatic sources in the region, the USA has discussed this with Iraqi opposition groups.

It is understood from diplomatic sources that the Bush administration has said it will not support lifting UN sanctions on Iraq unless Saddam's successors agree to supply Israel with oil.

All of this lends weight to the theory that Bush's war is part of a masterplan to reshape the Middle East to serve Israel's interests. Haaretz quoted Paritzky as saying that the pipeline project is economically justifiable because it would dramatically reduce Israel's energy bill.

US efforts to get Iraqi oil to Israel are not surprising. Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the US guaranteed all Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. The MoU, which has been quietly renewed every five years, also committed the USA to construct and stock a supplementary strategic reserve for Israel, equivalent to some US$3bn in 2002. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from restrictions on oil exports from the USA.

Moreover, the USA agreed to divert oil from its home market, even if that entailed domestic shortages, and guaranteed delivery of the promised oil in its own tankers if commercial shippers were unwilling or not available to carry the crude to Israel. All of this adds up to a potentially massive financial commitment.

The USA has another reason for supporting Paritzky's project: a land route for Iraqi oil direct to the Mediterranean would lessen US dependence on Gulf oil supplies. Direct access to the world's second-largest oil reserves (with the possibility of expansion through so-far untapped deposits) is an important strategic objective.

Sources: Jane's, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post

[ahadams]

we'd have invaded Canada - more untapped oil reserves than Iraq, a whole lot closer, and the signs are mostly in english...

[DonQatU]

"we'd have invaded Canada - more untapped oil reserves than Iraq, a whole lot closer, and the signs are mostly in english..."

Ah, ahadams! You're starting to think LOGICALLY NOW!

It would probably also have been more cost effective for Mohammed Atta to do his pilot training at Huffman Aviation Inc. & Opa Locka than Salman Pak! :o

:D Don

[Standing Wolf]

Yeah, and if we really cared about oil, we'd drill A.N.W.R.

[DonQatU]

Of course, the war was about WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION! NOT about oil!

Don

[ahadams]

Don Q: while I have no doubt that SH and his merry band of wackos were looking for every sort of wmd they could get their grubby hands on, I also have no doubt they did their best to disguise/destroy all the evidence to the best of their ability when they figured out the gig was up...remember we're talking about a bunch of folks who buried something like 50 MiG 25's in the sand with the expectation they'd be able to dig them up later and reuse them...shall we say not terribly technically astute?

That being the case I have no doubt that our folks will find the remnants of the SH weapons program eventually, but the whole bit about emphasizing WMD to the UN accomplished two things:
it made them look like idiots for denying their own documentation of known gaps in the destruction of such things as anthrax (I believe by UN reporting there were something like 1000 liters of more or less weaponized anthrax that Iraq claimed at the end of the Gulf War which were not destroyed) *and* it demonstrated publicly that the UN was not following it's own rules. Beyond that, however it also had a singularly salutory effect on a number of other not particularly democratic (or republican for that matter) countrys and their various attitudes toward both the US (Syria) and WMD (Pakistan, which has just made overtures toward eliminating it's nukes).

All in all, for under 200 allied lives, and a few billion in various supplies and such, it sounds like a bargain to me!

We are the last empire standing and it's about time we started acting like it.

[DonQatU]

buried something like 50 MiG 25's in the sand with the expectation they'd be able to dig them up later and reuse them...shall we say not terribly technically astute?

You believe THAT story TOO?

No wonder it's so easy for you to believe the other far fetched stories!

Don

PS - I just heard Sean Hanitty claim that SCUDS were found recently by US troops in Iraq. Any info on this?!! Pictures?

PPS - Hanitty is STILL claiming that the Mohammed Atta meeting with Iraqi Intell took place in Prague!

[dadman]

Cost of oil from "Heart" article:
"More than a third of Iraq’s current reserves lie just 600 meters (1800 feet) below the earth’s surface and some of Iraq’s fields are among the world’s largest. The fabulous Majnoun Field, not yet in production, is said to hold at least 25 billion barrels. According to Oil and Gas Journal, Western oil companies estimate that they can produce a barrel of Iraqi oil for less than $1.50 and possibly as little as $1, including all exploration, oilfield development and production costs and including a 15% return. This is similar to production costs in Saudi Arabia and lower than virtually any other country. .....
Offshore production areas like the North Sea, with expensive platforms, can run to $12-16 a barrel. In Texas and other US and Canadian fields, where deep wells and small reservoirs make production especially expensive, costs can run above $20 a barrel. When world market prices dip below $20 a barrel, the North American fields yield no profit at all, and many are capped, while production in an area like Iraq proves extremely profitable in all market conditions."

[dadman]

"We are the last empire standing and it's about time we started acting like it."

Are we a republic, or an empire? The Romans come to mind. They used to be a republic, went into empire mode, then fell flat. Empires are usually ruled by dictators or emporers.
All empires rise, then they fall. Unless we're blessed with some never ending magical empire powers.