Comments on: Guess Who Helped Draw Up Iraqi Ministry Oil Contracts … The Americans http://priceofoil.org/2008/06/30/guess-who-helped-draw-up-iraqi-ministry-oil-contracts-the-americans/ Oil Change International campaigns to expose the true costs of oil and facilitate the coming transition towards clean energy. We are dedicated to identifying and overcoming political barriers to that transition. Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:32:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Noah http://priceofoil.org/2008/06/30/guess-who-helped-draw-up-iraqi-ministry-oil-contracts-the-americans/#comment-465265 Noah Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:50:13 +0000 http://priceofoil.org/?p=3000#comment-465265 According to Andrew Kramer publishing in IHT a couple weeks ago, the contracts bring back the four oil majors present in the country before Saddam tossed them out. Also, the companies receiving the TSC-like contracts are negotiated to be paid in oil, despite the fact that they are not supposed to share revenue from the fields they develop. However, "A clause in the draft contracts would allow the companies to match bids from competing companies to retain the work once it is opened to bidding". But according to the platform article, it's too expensive to develop a bid if another company gets first preference, so "In practice, therefore, the companies with TSAs may well actually get long-term deals on their fields without competition." According to an official from one of the contracted companies, the Iraqi's gave the short-term no-bid contracts to companies who provided free advice on a particular field, implying 1 company for each field. However, there were 46 companies in Iraq giving advice, with memorandum's of understanding guaranteeing that each would be considered. Suspicious, but a plausible explanation is that the Iraqis naturally leaned toward companies whose home countries play a part in keeping the Iraqi government in power. According to Andrew Kramer publishing in IHT a couple weeks ago, the contracts bring back the four oil majors present in the country before Saddam tossed them out. Also, the companies receiving the TSC-like contracts are negotiated to be paid in oil, despite the fact that they are not supposed to share revenue from the fields they develop. However, “A clause in the draft contracts would allow the companies to match bids from competing companies to retain the work once it is opened to bidding”. But according to the platform article, it’s too expensive to develop a bid if another company gets first preference, so “In practice, therefore, the companies with TSAs may well actually get long-term deals on their fields without competition.”

According to an official from one of the contracted companies, the Iraqi’s gave the short-term no-bid contracts to companies who provided free advice on a particular field, implying 1 company for each field. However, there were 46 companies in Iraq giving advice, with memorandum’s of understanding guaranteeing that each would be considered. Suspicious, but a plausible explanation is that the Iraqis naturally leaned toward companies whose home countries play a part in keeping the Iraqi government in power.

]]> By: Lenny Kohm http://priceofoil.org/2008/06/30/guess-who-helped-draw-up-iraqi-ministry-oil-contracts-the-americans/#comment-463990 Lenny Kohm Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:49:48 +0000 http://priceofoil.org/?p=3000#comment-463990 Surely, there are Iraqi's in Iraq that know something about the oil business (from cradle to grave) since Iraq has appx. 10% of the world's known oil reserves. Somehow, we have been led to the conclusion that they are neophytes to all of this. It is my opinion that the Iraqi people can and should run their own affairs, and don't need Exxon/Mobil and their ilk to lead them out of the wilderness. Surely, there are Iraqi’s in Iraq that know something about the oil business (from cradle to grave) since Iraq has appx. 10% of the world’s known oil reserves.

Somehow, we have been led to the conclusion that they are neophytes to all of this. It is my opinion that the Iraqi people can and should run their own affairs, and don’t need Exxon/Mobil and their ilk to lead them out of the wilderness.

]]> By: Jason Haynes http://priceofoil.org/2008/06/30/guess-who-helped-draw-up-iraqi-ministry-oil-contracts-the-americans/#comment-462627 Jason Haynes Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:40:33 +0000 http://priceofoil.org/?p=3000#comment-462627 Although interesting, your article is missing a lot of key information and is too vague to judge the involvement. Helping write contracts or supplying contracts is not the same as "writing" them. Having Exxon/Mobil be the general contractor for exploration may be more sensible than writing numerous smaller contracts. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying; of course it all looks extraordinarily suspicious. I would simply like more information than just a few sound bites. I would like to truly understand the specifics of these contracts so that I can then say, "see, we knew it". If we ourselves do not dig beneath the sound bites, we render ourselves as simple minded as those that believe the hysteria by Faux News and the like. Although interesting, your article is missing a lot of key information and is too vague to judge the involvement. Helping write contracts or supplying contracts is not the same as “writing” them. Having Exxon/Mobil be the general contractor for exploration may be more sensible than writing numerous smaller contracts. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying; of course it all looks extraordinarily suspicious. I would simply like more information than just a few sound bites. I would like to truly understand the specifics of these contracts so that I can then say, “see, we knew it”.

If we ourselves do not dig beneath the sound bites, we render ourselves as simple minded as those that believe the hysteria by Faux News and the like.

]]> By: John Francis Lee http://priceofoil.org/2008/06/30/guess-who-helped-draw-up-iraqi-ministry-oil-contracts-the-americans/#comment-458864 John Francis Lee Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:49:32 +0000 http://priceofoil.org/?p=3000#comment-458864 No responses because it's no surprise. If you have been other than comatose for the past six years you have noticed the accelerated decline of the US. US aggression has at this point put our nation on a level with the German Third Reich. Those responsible feel that they themselves will be insulated from the consequences of their acts, should they fail, by their money. They went to Iraq to steal the oil and they're not going to give up until they've done so or killed all the rest of us and rendered the US an impotent shell trying. No responses because it’s no surprise.

If you have been other than comatose for the past six years you have noticed the accelerated decline of the US. US aggression has at this point put our nation on a level with the German Third Reich. Those responsible feel that they themselves will be insulated from the consequences of their acts, should they fail, by their money.

They went to Iraq to steal the oil and they’re not going to give up until they’ve done so or killed all the rest of us and rendered the US an impotent shell trying.

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