Reports: China, Iran near huge oil field deal

SHANGHAI, China - China and Iran are close to setting plans to develop Iran's Yadavaran oil field, according to published reports, in a multibillion-dollar deal that comes as Tehran faces the prospect of sanctions over its nuclear program.

The deal is thought potentially to be worth about $100 billion.

According to Caijing, a respected financial magazine, a Chinese government delegation is due to visit Iran as early as March to formally sign an agreement allowing China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, to develop Yadavaran.

MSNBC

Good job George, you fucking idiot.

I don't know why we would be surprised that China is dealing the best deal possible for herself. China has done that in South America and Africa, too. And why wouldn't they?

China is now a major power that can deal for themselves - they don't need us.

Chinese government

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=February&x=20060216180551SAikceinawz0.1911127&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

This whole bourse deal is being fed on misinformation.

gave the best explanation of the impact of an Iranian Oil bourse that I've seen.
http://www.energybulletin.net/12463.html

Trading oil in euros – does it matter?

by Cóilín Nunan

With speculation mounting over the possibility of a US- or Israeli-led military attack of Iran sometime later this year, it has been suggested that real motivation for US antipathy towards the Iranian government has little to do with concerns that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons. Some commentators have instead suggested that Iran’s real Iranian threat to the US and its economy is that, in defiance of the US administration, it is attempting to establish an oil ‘bourse’ (exchange) in March of this year which would enable oil to be traded in euros. This would move oil sales away from their usual denomination in dollars and would, it is argued, undermine the American currency with grave consequences for the US economy. (1,2) This internet-based debate is reminiscent of what occurred before the invasion of Iraq when several observers, myself included, hypothesised that Saddam Hussein’s decision to sell Iraqi oil in euros was perhaps one of the reasons the US wanted ‘regime change’. (3,4) The US decision after the invasion to return Iraqi oil sales to dollar denomination and to convert back into dollars all Iraqi foreign currency reserves, which had been in euros prior to the war, was certainly entirely consistent with this theory. (5)

However, others have claimed that the idea that the currency in which oil is sold matters at all is based on a poor understanding of economics. If oil sales were switched away from the dollar, they claim, it would make no difference to the US economy, and therefore this cannot have anything to do with the reasons the US went to war in Iraq and is now adopting a threatening stance towards Iran. I will try and address their main argument, as I feel the economic reasons why the denomination of oil sales are is an important issue have not always been clearly explained, including by myself.

more at link

It was written well before the publication date.

Iran has determined it will use the Euro and the article you posted needs updating to include the effect the Euro will have.

regarding the impact of trading oil in Euros, which I thought he explained
rather well, is still pertinent-- whether or not the decision
was made at the time the article was written.

There's a lot of good articles which explain it, but here it is in a nutshell:

The U.S. is reliant upon foreign governments buying the dollar to sustain the economy. The way the U.S. keeps governments buying the dollar is by being the only game in town when it comes to pricing the most important commodity in the world, oil. If the U.S. hegemony in oil pricing is broken, less governments will buy the dollar and the U.S. economy will suffer.

The Iranian Oil Bourse has the capability to start a landslide away from the dollar (especially considering how the Euro has a much better return on investment than the dollar), thus making it much harder for the U.S. to borrow money to sustain the economy.



In William R. Clark's "Petrodollar Warfare; Dollars, Euros and the upcoming Iranian Oil Bourse", Clark outlines the problems the dollar faces if Iran proceeds with its plan to use a euro-based oil trading exchange. The new Iranian bourse would compete head-on with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and London's International Petroleum Exchange IPE) giving international buyers an option of "buying a barrel of oil $60 on the NYMEX or IPE or 45 to 50 euros via the Iranian bourse." Clark calls this the Federal Reserves "biggest nightmare" as it would precipitate a face-off between the dollar and the euro and would fundamentally change the dynamics in the world's largest market.

"In essence, the US will no longer be able to effortlessly expand credit via US Treasury Bills, and the dollars demand-liquidity will quickly fall." This will "challenge the hegemony currently enjoyed by the financial centers in both London and New York."

more in interest to buyers of our debt. Which will take more out of our yearly budget for interest payment on our debt. If our debt grows large enough interest will consume all tax revenues. So taxes must be raised and the economy will slow down more, people will suffer more from no government supports and help. We will cycle down and down and down.

As interest rates are raised to keep foreigners buying U.S. debt, Americans are also hit with the higher rates.

Say goodbye to the housing market, and to the debt spending Americans are currently engaged in which is bouying up the fake economy.

And for no other reason.

Other countries buy our debt because we are the most stable and healthy economy in the world, PERIOD! Iran can and does switch their dollars to Euro's every day as do other oil producing countries. All Iran requesting to be paid in Euro's does is require the payor to supply his payment in Euro's and possibly cause an increase in the amount of Euro's needed to keep inflation down.

This whole theory is based in qwackery. It is not based on sound economic reasoning. I'm shocked so may people have fallen for this crap.

The united states is bankrupt. The Iranian oil bourse would make it fall harder and faster. Right now, our economy is all smoke & mirrors, and dollar hegemony helps keep up "appearances".... but it doesn't hold water. The fed is printing money so fast that they even decided to quit counting it. (M3 is no longer reported.)



:kick:

for a new approach. Maybe the Bear and Dragon are putting their differences asside.

Darfur genocide business went nowhere. Piss off the Sudanese, and you don't get access to their oilfields. We've prohibited US companies from going into Sudan until recently, so when it comes to Sudan it's in China's (and France's) interest to make sure the Islamist government is happy. Siding with the Darfur folks ... makes the government unhappy.

We'll learn eventually never to let morality and ethics interfere with, oh, say, business and economic self-interest.

First time since Vietnam.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Amid_China_Threat_US_To_Hold_Mammoth_Naval_Operations_In_Pacific.html

Somewhat outdated, but the overlying thesis hasn't changed.

A Preemptive Attack on Iran's Nuclear Facilities: Possible Consequences
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040812.htm

why Bush and Rice are asking Congress for an "emergency funding" to promote 'democracy' and 'freedom' in Iran. When I read the word 'emergency', I knew they must be desperate in Washington. They must have known about this yesterday when the article appeared.

I wonder: how does this affect Iran's position in OPEC? I know they are the #2 biggest oil producer besides Saudi Arabia. There is actually some speculation that SA's oil fields are set for a rapid decline, which would mean that Iran is in fact the #1 oil producer......bad news for Bush.

And we've had such a sparkling success record in Iran!!! Look at our "puppet", the Shah of Iran. That worked out really well. Bush is going to find out the hard way you don't treat people like dirt and then make friends with them.

But if Iran decides to make a deal with China, will they cut back on their sales to other countries? This is BIG news.

For sure, the Iranians and Chinese are treating us with the contempt we deserve for having madmen and idiots in charge. The whole of Europe is more polite about it, and Russia glowers. Only the Poodle (but not his conuntrymen) stands downwind of the US. Latin America has declared independence, and will continue to break away, as the screws Reagan put on are OFF! And Africa will continue to die in a welter of misplaced religiosity, non-existent public health, and endless warfare.

Somebody get George a map and a crash course in consequences.

of the global community.

upper-middle class down to working poor class, but it will be a windfall for the rich. They can shift their money and investments into the euro-backed petro-energy Iranian Bourse. In this scenario, they will be in essence paid in euros but spend dollars. This would be a huge windfall. Sort of like being paid in dollars and spending pesos. Bush and cronies stand to make a ton of profit off this while America heads straight into the toilet. I think the larger picture is that American and British Oil Companies like Exxon and BP will lose their clout as happened in Venezuela where Chavez nationalized the country's oil production. Bushco is heavily tied to oil and this could be devastating to them.

the Bush administration can't be THAT stupid, can they?

:rofl: nevermind!!

:scared:

Everyone is getting their ducks in a row for the really really big show.

might be a good time to check out NEW ZEALAND with the wife and kids