Big Oil to be awarded no bid contracts in Iraq.

Upton · #1 (**permalink**) 06-20-2008, 06:55 PM

Looks like the gullible Bush apologists have been had again. The left was right, this war really was about oil and has been all along. Over 4000 Americans dead and trillions wasted, all to quench the greed of Big Oil.

From The NY Times

Quote:

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.

April15 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-20-2008, 11:32 PM

What else did you expect? Patriotism?

Jetblast · #3 (**permalink**) 06-20-2008, 11:58 PM

They expect to raise production from the current 2.5 million barrels a day to 6 million.

They got the oil companies in there before Iraq formed an oil law under its government.

When Texas slim rode the nuclear bomb down in Dr Strangelove he shouted Yahoo! and waved his stetson...

funktacular · #4 (**permalink**) 06-21-2008, 12:02 AM

its about damn time!

Back Atcha · #5 (**permalink**) 06-21-2008, 12:06 AM

Oil might have been part of the picture, but not even close to the whole story. The no bid contracts are just a side benefit. Look a little further down the road for the real answer for this war.