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24 November, 2005

*Philip Thornton, UK Economics Correspondent: Iraqis to lose $200Biilion to US/UK Oil Companies

Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn
(£116bn) of the wealth of their country if an
American plan to hand over development of its
oil reserves to US and British multinationals comes
into force next year.
The Independent
Iraq's oil: The spoils of war
By Philip Thornton, Economics Correspondent
Published: 22 November 2005

Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn
(£116bn) of the wealth of their country if an
American-inspired plan to hand over development of its
oil reserves to US and British multinationals comes
into force next year. A report produced by American
and British pressure groups warns Iraq will be caught
in an "old colonial trap" if it allows foreign
companies to take a share of its vast energy reserves.
The report is certain to reawaken fears that the real
purpose of the 2003 war on Iraq was to ensure its oil
came under Western control.

The Iraqi government has announced plans to seek
foreign investment to exploit its oil reserves after
the general election, which will be held next month.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proved oil reserves,
the third largest in the world.

According to the report, from groups including War on
Want and the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the new
Iraqi constitution opened the way for greater foreign
investment. Negotiations with oil companies are
already under way ahead of next month's election and
before legislation is passed, it said.

The groups said they had amassed details of high-level
pressure from the US and UK governments on Iraq to
look to foreign companies to rebuild its oil industry.
It said a Foreign Office code of practice issued in
summer last year said at least $4bn would be needed to
restore production to the levels before the 1990-91
Gulf War. "Given Iraq's needs it is not realistic to
cut government spending in other areas and Iraq would
need to engage with the international oil companies to
provide appropriate levels of foreign direct
investment to do this," it said.

Yesterday's report said the use of production sharing
agreements (PSAs) was proposed by the US State
Department before the invasion and adopted by the
Coalition Provisional Authority. "The current
government is fast-tracking the process. It is already
negotiating contracts with oil companies in parallel
with the constitutional process, elections and passage
of a Petroleum Law," the report, Crude Designs, said.

Earlier this year a BBC Newsnight report claimed to
have uncovered documents showing the Bush
administration made plans to secure Iraqi oil even
before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. Based on
its analysis of PSAs in seven countries, it said
multinationals would seek rates of return on their
investment from 42 to 162 per cent, far in excess of
typical 12 per cent rates.

Taking an assumption of $40 a barrel, below the
current price of almost $60, and a likely contract
term of 25 to 40 years, it said that Iraq stood to
lose between £74bn and $194bn. Andrew Simms, the NEF's
policy director, said: "Over the last century, Britain
and the US left a global trail of conflict, social
upheaval and environmental damage as they sought to
capture and control a disproportionate share of the
world's oil reserves. Now it seems they are determined
to increase their ecological debts at Iraq's expense.
Instead of a new beginning, Iraq is caught in a very
old colonial trap."

Louise Richards, chief executive of War on Want, said:
"People have increasingly come to realise the Iraq war
was about oil, profits and plunder. Despite claims
from politicians that this is a conspiracy theory, our
report gives detailed evidence to show Iraq's oil
profits are well within the sights of the oil
multinationals."

The current Iraqi government has indicated that it
wants to treble production from two million barrels a
day this year to six million. The US Energy
Information Administration said such an increase would
ease "market tensions" that have kept the price high.
But governments and oil companies in the West said the
report was purely hypothetical and that the issue was
a matter for the Iraqi people. They also pointed out
that Iraq needed money to rebuild in the sector.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the country's
oil industry was in desperate need of investment after
years of under-investment, UN sanctions, vandalism by
Saddam Hussein and more recent sabotage by insurgents
and general looting. "The Iraqi government has made it
clear that the decision is a matter for its
authorities but they understand that it would require
a lot of investment," he said. He said it was not
surprising that Iraq should look to outside experts to
help rebuild an industry that was the key source of
revenue to help rebuild the country.

"We work closely with other departments such as the
Treasury to give assistance and advice," he said,
adding that the Foreign Office had not been involved
in specific lobbying.

Gregg Muttitt, of Platform, a campaign group that
co-authored the report, said Iraq had an existing -
albeit damaged - network of oil expertise and could
use current revenues or new borrowings to fund
investment. The report named several companies,
including the Anglo-Dutch Shell group, as jockeying
for position before a new government is elected. In
2003, Walter van de Vijver, then head of exploration
and production, said investors would need "some
assurance of future income and a supportive
contractual arrangement". The groupsaidyesterday that
the involvement of foreign oil companies would be
determined by the new Iraqi administration. "We aspire
to establish a long-term presence in Iraq and a
long-term relationship with the Iraqis, including the
newly elected government."

No multinationals are operating in Iraq now because of
the poor security situation.

Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn
(£116bn) of the wealth of their country if an
American-inspired plan to hand over development of its
oil reserves to US and British multinationals comes
into force next year. A report produced by American
and British pressure groups warns Iraq will be caught
in an "old colonial trap" if it allows foreign
companies to take a share of its vast energy reserves.
The report is certain to reawaken fears that the real
purpose of the 2003 war on Iraq was to ensure its oil
came under Western control.

The Iraqi government has announced plans to seek
foreign investment to exploit its oil reserves after
the general election, which will be held next month.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proved oil reserves,
the third largest in the world.

According to the report, from groups including War on
Want and the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the new
Iraqi constitution opened the way for greater foreign
investment. Negotiations with oil companies are
already under way ahead of next month's election and
before legislation is passed, it said.

The groups said they had amassed details of high-level
pressure from the US and UK governments on Iraq to
look to foreign companies to rebuild its oil industry.
It said a Foreign Office code of practice issued in
summer last year said at least $4bn would be needed to
restore production to the levels before the 1990-91
Gulf War. "Given Iraq's needs it is not realistic to
cut government spending in other areas and Iraq would
need to engage with the international oil companies to
provide appropriate levels of foreign direct
investment to do this," it said.

Yesterday's report said the use of production sharing
agreements (PSAs) was proposed by the US State
Department before the invasion and adopted by the
Coalition Provisional Authority. "The current
government is fast-tracking the process. It is already
negotiating contracts with oil companies in parallel
with the constitutional process, elections and passage
of a Petroleum Law," the report, Crude Designs, said.

Earlier this year a BBC Newsnight report claimed to
have uncovered documents showing the Bush
administration made plans to secure Iraqi oil even
before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. Based on
its analysis of PSAs in seven countries, it said
multinationals would seek rates of return on their
investment from 42 to 162 per cent, far in excess of
typical 12 per cent rates.

Taking an assumption of $40 a barrel, below the
current price of almost $60, and a likely contract
term of 25 to 40 years, it said that Iraq stood to
lose between £74bn and $194bn. Andrew Simms, the NEF's
policy director, said: "Over the last century, Britain
and the US left a global trail of conflict, social
upheaval and environmental damage as they sought to
capture and control a disproportionate share of the
world's oil reserves. Now it seems they are determined
to increase their ecological debts at Iraq's expense.
Instead of a new beginning, Iraq is caught in a very
old colonial trap."
Louise Richards, chief executive of War on Want, said:
"People have increasingly come to realise the Iraq war
was about oil, profits and plunder. Despite claims
from politicians that this is a conspiracy theory, our
report gives detailed evidence to show Iraq's oil
profits are well within the sights of the oil
multinationals."

The current Iraqi government has indicated that it
wants to treble production from two million barrels a
day this year to six million. The US Energy
Information Administration said such an increase would
ease "market tensions" that have kept the price high.
But governments and oil companies in the West said the
report was purely hypothetical and that the issue was
a matter for the Iraqi people. They also pointed out
that Iraq needed money to rebuild in the sector.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the country's
oil industry was in desperate need of investment after
years of under-investment, UN sanctions, vandalism by
Saddam Hussein and more recent sabotage by insurgents
and general looting. "The Iraqi government has made it
clear that the decision is a matter for its
authorities but they understand that it would require
a lot of investment," he said. He said it was not
surprising that Iraq should look to outside experts to
help rebuild an industry that was the key source of
revenue to help rebuild the country.

"We work closely with other departments such as the
Treasury to give assistance and advice," he said,
adding that the Foreign Office had not been involved
in specific lobbying.

Gregg Muttitt, of Platform, a campaign group that
co-authored the report, said Iraq had an existing -
albeit damaged - network of oil expertise and could
use current revenues or new borrowings to fund
investment. The report named several companies,
including the Anglo-Dutch Shell group, as jockeying
for position before a new government is elected. In
2003, Walter van de Vijver, then head of exploration
and production, said investors would need "some
assurance of future income and a supportive
contractual arrangement". The groupsaidyesterday that
the involvement of foreign oil companies would be
determined by the new Iraqi administration. "We aspire
to establish a long-term presence in Iraq and a
long-term relationship with the Iraqis, including the
newly elected government."

No multinationals are operating in Iraq now because of
the poor security situation.

Posted by alexanderjames 22:18 | Stay-truly-informed-World-news | Comments Off | Permalink

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