Crude designs: the rip off of Iraq’s oil wealth

Control of Iraq's future oil wealth is being handed to multinational oil companies through long-term contracts that will cost Iraq hundreds of billions of dollars, according to a new report from PLATFORM, published with nef and War on Want in the UK.

Crude designs: the rip off of Iraq’s oil wealth, reveals that current Iraqi oil policy will allocate the development of at least 64% of Iraq’s reserves to foreign oil companies. Iraq has the world’s third largest oil reserves. Figures published in the report for the first time show that the estimated cost to Iraq over the life of the new oil contracts is US $74 to US $194 billion, compared with leaving oil development in public hands. These sums represent between two and seven times the current Iraqi state budget. The contracts would guarantee massive profits to foreign companies, with rates of return of 42 per cent to 162 per cent. The kinds of contracts that will provide these returns are known as production sharing agreements (PSAs). PSAs have been heavily promoted by the US government and oil majors and have the backing of senior figures in the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Britain has also encouraged Iraq to open its oilfields to foreign investment. However PSAs last for 25-40 years, are usually secret and prevent governments from later altering the terms of the contract.

link to report (PDF) from New Economics Foundation: Author: Greg Muttitt
CO-PUBLICATION: Platform, with nef and War on Want in the UK, and the Institute for Policy Studies, Global Policy Forum and Oil Change International in the US.

http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/z_sys_publicationdetail.aspx?pid=215

dp

stealing of Iraqi resources. That was the essence of the new constitution. It won't survive.

I really can't see us controlling their oil. I know thats why we went in there. I see a lot of blown up oil pipe lines now and in the future.

hegemony. Yeah! Anyone who does not see this is blind, a fool, ignorant, brainwashed, or wholly corrupt or I'm one of the first two. Bet the divvying up was decided in DC's secret energy meetings.

Louise Richards, Chief Executive of War on Want, also a co-publisher said: "People have increasingly come to realise that the Iraq war was about oil, profits and plunder. Despite claims from the politicians involved that this is a "conspiracy theory", our new report gives detailed evidence to show that Iraq's oil profits, far from being used to alleviate some of the suffering the Iraqi people now face, are well within the sights of the oil multi-nationals."

http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/news_crudedesigns.aspx

we're not blind, foolish, ignorant, brainwashed nor corrupt.
dp

which portends a very ugly next decade or two in the least.

:kick:


dp