And the winner of Iraq's oil is...China? Yes, thanks to U.S. senators

On the same day as the deadline for American troop withdrawal from Iraq, the Iraqi government held a daylong, nationally televised public auction of its vast oil reserves...and the show turned out to be a dud.

Although this was the most significant attempt to open up the country’s oil industry since it was nationalized by Saddam Hussein in 1972, only a single deal emerged among the six giant oil fields and two gas fields that the Iraqis had put up for bid.

"The single successful contract went to a pairing of BP and the China National Petroleum Corp. for the largest field on offer: Rumaila, near the southern city of Basra, which has proven reserves of 17 billion barrels," the New York Times reported.

China? Yes, China. All three of China's mail oil companies were in the thick of the Baghdad bidding show Tuesday, all of them in partnership with Western companies.

"Few Americans or Iraqis may have expected China to emerge as one of the winners in Iraqi oil, particularly after six years of war," the Times reports in a separate story. "But signs of stability in Iraq this year, and a planned American military pullout from Iraqi cities on Tuesday, happened to coincide with an aggressive Chinese push to buy or develop overseas oil fields."

Originally, the Times noted, the Iraqi government tried "to award oil fields to Western companies through a no-bid process. That prompted objections from a group of United States senators, who wanted greater transparency, and the plan was replaced with the auction, which had the effect of letting Chinese companies play a much larger role."

[AP photo]

Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Comments

[get-smart]

Oil is fungible. So now the illiterates in this country can't say the war was over oil.

[Fl Republican]

No need to name call Get Smart,that is just your opinion.
I can say that as our army advanced we did leave military units at any oil site or pumping station and pipeline but we did not leave munition dumps guarded.
You tell me,how "literate" does one have to be to understand this is not a call a military commander would make unless expressly ordered to.
Now see I had a difference of opinion with out calling you an arrogant fool or tin hat wearer,or being blinded by the propaganda,I didn't even suggest perhaps reading something other then one of Murdoch's magazine or the
Heritage Foundation's website you may improve your own literacy,because that would be somewhat rude and may cause an aggressive response.
So here was a source of oil that our companies decided not to be winning bid of? I thought our oil companies were going to aggressively pursue any oil source? Oh well,my guess is they will be saying next year that we are at a critical stage and must drill baby drill!

[get-smart]

Fl Republican

I was being sarcastic. If oil is fungible it doesn't matter who has dibs on the well. The price equalizes through out the world. So the war could still have been over oil.

Since we owe China trillions and China wants a secure source of oil, I think a deal was cut. It also neutralizes the 'oil war' complaint sticking to their guy, BO.

Cheers -

[Tino]

China has been signing a number of massive deals with countries to lock up future production.

Iraq's future oil --> China

Brazil's future oil --> China

Cuba's future oil --> China

Indonesia's future oil --> China

Angola's future oil --> China

Sudan's future oil --> China

see a pattern? apparently your elected representatives do not. they think that our future automobiles will be powered by rainbows and unicorn farts. throw in a 40+% tax rate on US companies that no other country burdens their oil industry with and you can see that our energy supplies of the future are in deep, deep trouble.

[get-smart]

Tino - Do you have a problem with the
Obama Michael Jackson: Dead and In Debt Economic policies?

Just check your tire pressure and change your house light bulbs and everything will be fine.

And Remember: For every gallon of gas that we save here the Chinese will burn. - Now don't you feel better!

Cheers -

[Eric Stewart]

I just recently wrote on Creative Loafing a blog about Peak Oil: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/01/peak-production-of-oil/

Check it out, Share it, Tweet it, Facebook it, Comment it!
Thanks,
Eric Stewart

[get-smart]

Eric Stewart you're an idiot. I got your loaf right here; it's a meat loaf.

Do you think the Greeks in Tarpon are going to give up their SUV's and join a commune and smoke reefer? I don't think so.

These book selling idiots that wrote this crap in the '70s predicted that oil production would end by the year 2000, not to mention the ozone. We find new sources of oil every day. In addition there is an abundance of coal.

Worse comes to worse we will make the electric golf cart cars that charge from the coal fired electric plants.

Nostradamus said "There is a land, south of all, covered in ice, that oozes black tar. For the future that thinks what in null, shall see all."

As Jackson sez: "just beat it"

Cheers -

[Steve]

"Since we owe China trillions and China wants a secure source of oil, I think a deal was cut."

I think so too.

Does anyone know _which_ senators supposedly pushed for this auction process?

[Fungible idiot]

The war was over oil.

The oil barons used american military, and the deaths of american kids, to secure the fields...so they could be exploited by china. What's wrong with that?

[get-smart]

The American Revolution was fought so the American colonist can conquer the continent. They didn't like the edicts of King George. They didn't like that they were to stay put east of the Allegany Mt while the French settlers had the run of the Ohio Valley.

The war was fought for the exploitation of the land and not because of some psychobabble piece of paper that claims; 'all men are created equal.' They knew better.

Happy Independence's Day All!

Cheers -

[Tino]

Wow. This is why the filthy hippies at Creative Loafing are a journalistic laughingstock.

Eric Stewart's drug-fueled fantasy started off with some factual info, then took a 90-degree turn into a unicorn-hopping, rainbow-filled Wonderland.

So when we are paying $10 or more a gallon to get around, "We will see a reemergence of the Arts. Culture and society will flourish..."

Um, no. I can't imagine that people are going to be spending money on the arts and culture when they have to work twice as many hours to keep the lights on and pay for their much-more expensive groceries. The complete opposite will occur, as we are seeing in the current economic downturn. Are the local museums and cafes wall-to-wall with people enjoying their unemployment time?

If we are spending the remaining few hours of our free time to grow a 39 cent apple, we are beyond screwed. We're cavemen.

Maybe Eric has a lot of free time in his part-time journalist job to raise his own grain, mill it into flour, and bake it into bread. Me, I'll just buy it for $2.

[get-smart]

The Senators are,Schumer, McCaskill, and Kerry

The story:
http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/09/in-china-we-trust-senators-clo/

Cheers -

[Steve]

Thanks Get-Smart.

Tino, life without cheap oil is in fact livable. Anybody who was paying attention knew that the oil would run out someday anyway. The only real debate has been over when it would happen.

Thanks to lobbying on behalf of oil companies and car companies, the U.S. is way behind in breaking its dependency on oil. But it can catch up. (Unless that stuff about the can-do spirit, and innovative culture of America was pure feel-good rhetoric. But it wasn't.)

[roberto]

Of course China - They need Oil as much as the UA and GB. Smart move - no war between east and west (fo now).

[Tino]

No, my point about the original article is that cheap oil will be gone for the US, killed off by regulations, tax rates, environmental restrictions and the inability for the country to chart a long-term energy strategy.

China, however, is making the necessary moves to lock in oil production for decades to come. Add Venezuela to the earlier list of countries I provided. Late last week the two countries just signed a deal for oil leases.

Remember, plastics are made with oil, too. Are we supposed to go without those, too?

[Tino]

T. Boone Pickens on CNBC (7/7/09): "Iraq, Brazil, Venezuela... China has lined up their oil for years to come. We haven't lined up ANY oil."