Posted on 12/12/2009 6:51:06 PM PST by FromLori
So much for America getting all the oil it spent billions of dollars, and thousands of lives to "liberate."
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By SINAN SALAHEDDIN (AP) – 10 hours ago
BAGHDAD — A consortium led by Russia's private oil giant won the biggest prize of Iraq's second oil auction this year, nabbing a field initially promised them a decade ago by Saddam Hussein while other companies Saturday showed little interest in offerings outside the secure southern part of the country.
Lukoil and Norway's Statoil ASA won rights to develop the 12.88 billion barrel West Qurna Phase 2 field in the Basra region, beating out three other consortiums led by France's Total SA, Malaysia's state-run Petronas and British giant BP PLC.
The field was the crown jewel of Iraq's second international oil auction, which has placed some of the country's most coveted sites up for grabs compared with the riskier fields that drew little interest in the first auction in June. In all, 15 fields were offered over two days, and of the seven offered Saturday, four were awarded.
"It is a big victory for Iraq," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters after the final field was auctioned. "It is a big achievement for Iraq to win such contracts at the current prices."
Al-Shahristani said that the contracts awarded over the two days, coupled with those awarded over the past few months — including the June auction — would help the country boost production to 12 million barrels per day in six years. Iraq currently struggles to produce 2.5 million barrels a day.
The aggressive interest in West Qurna 2 — the biggest of the 15 offered — reflected not only its ample reserve base and cheap development costs, but also its location in the relatively Shiite heartland in Iraq's south.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Iraq: Persian for “Ingrateful Douchebags”.
They have been winning those left and right. Why shouldn’t they. The Iraqi Govt knows that Putin will not stand in the way of business. Why award a contract in a political uncertain enviroment.
Also, I am sure the Russians don’t have the FCPA of 1974.
We need to be developing our own oil and building new refineries. It means American Jobs and more economic security. Why would the Democrats and Union leaders block it?????
That's okay, we get to keep all the WMDs we found. Plus, we're safer now that Saddam can't launch those missiles that would hit us (or was it England?) within 45 minutes.
I like your administration lineup.
And you are spot on. The point here is the current douchebags running this country want our energy costs to SKYROCKET.
They WANT us to go broke heating our homes and driving our cars.
I swear, with the direction they are taking us in, I sometimes think they are going to either enslave us or drive us to rebellion. There will be no other path.
Oh, i thought we invaded Iraq so we could steal all the oil?
What is your point?
Thank you! It is up to us to make it happen!!
I agree. 0bama is taking us to serfdom.
As I recall, didn’t the Democrat congress make it illegal for the Iraqis to grant oil contracts to American companies. Something about not wanting Americans to gain from the war, or some such.
No, your translation is off slightly. Iraq is Persian for “free market” (oil bids, baby, oil bids!) and “flat tax,” which was instituted while L. Paul Bremer was in charge. Just because this isn’t helping the US doesn’t mean the theories are wrong. In fact, just the opposite. It proves the theories are right!
Didn’t the Russians already buy this oil in the days of Saddam? (UN ‘oil’ for rotten ‘food’)
Are you saying we had other motives going into Iraq? Because if you are, that means you're in league with those no-blood-for-oil traitors
We spill blood, Russians get the oil.
It’s a brilliant government we have, isn’t it?
Kerry and the Dems blocked it last time when they wanted to give it to Mobile. Who would ever want to do business w/this regime?
Pray for America and Our Troops
Your point was not self evident.
It would have been if you had put a “/S” tag at the end.
Remember that not everyone knows who you are, and when you are online there is no body language or voice inflection to communicate, and your words stand on their own.
Because they are ideological scumbags. They do not have the best interest of the United States in mind. They all need to get voted out next time they are up for election.
No, Ingratefull Douchbags is correct. We spent how much blood and treasure and they give their business to other nations?
They didn’t deserve freedom. They are garbage.
We don’t need no stinkin’ oil, we got DumBO tilting at windmills.
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